A few changes at the Baptism Site

As more and more tourists come to Jordan to visit the numerous landmarks, changes need to be made, the sites need to get modernised. In today's Jordan Times there is an article about the Baptism Site. (you can read about my visit here). According to the Baptism Site Commission there has been an increase of 28% in the visits in the beginning of the year compared to last year, which brings the visitors to 73'000 from January to May.

The first change that will affect the tourists is the entrance fee: 12JD instead of 7JD. I think it is quite a jump in price and in my opinion the site commission better ameliorate the experience hugely. A little note here, this is the only site where residents don't get the same discount as Jordanians. Will it be counter productive? I don't know, the people who are visiting this site do it probably only once and because of religious reasons. Having said that, I think that Jordan is starting to realise the moneys that can be made from tourism, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see this happening for more tourist locations - after all it is already the case at Petra as well.

One of the things that is being introduced is audio devices, these will be distributed to the visitors. They will be available in several languages: French, English, Italian, Spanish, German and Russian. This is clearly a good thing: when I visited there was only one guide, explaining the site in English and I honestly didn't get to follow any of it: can you imagine me with Bibs in the arms, trying to take pictures and running after a guide I can't really hear anyways? And I wasn't the only one in this situation. So that is definitely a huge improvement.

Apart from that I don't know what is planned - there is a clear lack of a coffee shop, restrooms on site. Maybe they think about a hostel for pilgrims? When we visited I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to see   many of the discovered churches, baptism pools and caves which can be found on site, I certainly hope that visitors will have easier access to that and the accessibility improved. Finally as you exit the site there is a small area with some souvenir shops, this can also use a lifting.

They just need to make sure that the value for money is there...

a bit about the World Cup in Amman

I admit, I still believe...

As England tries for the third time to actually play a decent match, I finally sit down and write about the world cup in Jordan... It has taken me a while, but then am no football fan. Just see how the French are behaving themselves and you have the reason - okay only a French football team can go on strike - but I don't really like the spirit of the game. Besides that, it has been a rubbish cup for Europe anyways. Let's see if Denmark get qualified, one never know.

I got very surprised when I saw the Jordanian passion for football - they are not even qualified for the cup but still, there are flags everywhere, special lounges in the hotels and even shopping malls. That's another reason i haven't written about this before now: we went for lunch at the Sheraton on the opening day of the world cup and I visited their lounge. I wanted to go back and get pictures, but time is flying and I haven't had the occasion. Shame, it's nicely done. The early games can be watched in the "indoor world cup lounge": lots of flags, flat screens, big sofas: a really nice ambiance. The evening game is shown outside at the Sanctury as well as inside. The Sanctury is the outdoor lounge there - will make a post about that - and you can reserve your own tent with private TV to watch the game. Pretty cool, if you are into football of course!

You can see the entrance to the World Cup Lounge at the top of the stairs

So, I was saying, the Jordanians have a true passion for football. Also, being in a non represented country, with so many expats give a special atmosphere. Take the flags for exemple. At the beginning of the world cup there were flags on many many cars around Amman, like the one at the beginning of my post. But unfortunately it was decided at some level that that was to be fined and so people had to pay 20 or 25JD because they had a foreign flag on the car. I think it's ashame it adds to atmosphere. Some people don't care about the fine so you still see some flags here and there but it is mainly expats. Yesterday I saw a Brazilian flag on the roof of a car, thought that was smart! Bobs took our flag off.  I really liked the idea. Might put it back up if England is qualified for the next round.

a couple of exemples of car decorations

This is the guy who sold me my England flag. He had many to choose from, but unfortunately he looked quite puzzled when I asked him for a Danish one... I think he didn't really know what I was talking about!

Even one of our local pharmacies is having flags up. I wonder why it is allowed to have flags on buildings and not on cars though?

1-0 for England... so maybe team GB still has a chance! Go England...

Where are you from?

A typical question you get as you enter a taxi is "Where are you from?, America?", and somehow for the past couple of months it has made me a bit unconfortable.

When I arrived to Jordan and was asked I would always reply, honestly: am from Denmark, and I must say I have always had the lovely response: it is a nice country. I don't know if they know where Denmark actually is, but still, I thought it was a good answer. That was until one of my friends told me that her Danish husband had been in a bar on Al Wakalat Street and when he said he was from DK, the waiter made illusion to the problems which came after the drawings a couple of years back (I guess you all know what I am making reference to). Anyways, this really made me wonder. What happens if I am in a taxi and the driver doesn't like me being from Denmark?... The odds are probably low, but if I am with Bibs, I'd rather not take any chance. This bothers me, really. Am proud of being from Denmark. And besides that, what do I answer? If I say France, they'll look at me and say "ahhh Sarkozy" - which in a way is not that much better. So I have resigned myself to say that I am British.

Am I being paranoid? Most probably.

Flash floods in South of France

A couple of days ago the part of South of France where I grew up was hit by torrential rain and flash floods. In Callas, the village where I grew up, there wasn't much damage. Figanieres, the village down the road, was badly hit, as you can see on the movie below.

This was shot and posted by jakou83. It is very impressive.

According to the regional news paper Nice Matin, in the whole of Var (part of the region where this happened), the count is now of 25 dead and 14 persons still missing. My parents told me they had never seen rain like this, then in another city Draguignan, it is the biggest rainfall recorded since 1827. My heart goes out to all the victims of this disaster. Usual the region is hit by forest fires during the summer, not flash floods. As I have already said in previous posts, I think mother nature is teaching us lessons and Earth is very fed up with the way we treat her...

Restaurant China

In our search for decent asian food at reasonable prices - I mean you can go to the Four Seasons Hotel and enjoy a Malaysian Nasik Lemak made by a Malaysian chef (not that I have been but Bobs has) and spend 40JD or drive to Six Senses in Ma'In and order some Thai food made by a Thai chef, but a little over an hour and another 40JD per head is not what you'll do on a everyday friday lunch either. So again, in our search for decent asian food at reasonable prices and on the recommendation of a couple of persons and this (old) article from the New York Times we finally made it to China Restaurant, also known as Abu Khalil. Located in a small street parallel with Rainbow Street (see my map).

Well in our opinion not worth going: either we were unlucky or the chef/owner wasn't there or the owner has been too long in Jordan and has forgotten what Chinese food is supposed to look and taste like. The restaurant has been around for ages, according to the above mentioned article it opened in 1975. I don't think the decor has changed since, but that's okay, at least it looked Chinese.Surprisingly enough the restaurant was nearly full. So what did we have: won ton soup - the broth was okay (even had a little Chinese taste to it) and the won ton's were not. The texture of the filling was really weird and it didn't really taste of anything - but then pork won ton's are so much better than chicken anyways. Then we had some fried noodles which were sailing in fat, beef and ginger/spring onions: the beef was more boiled than sauteed and finaly sweet and sour chicken that I can't really remember. It wasn't that expensive, i think we paid less than 25JD, but far too expensive considering the quality of the food.

So I guess they won't see us again, unless I hear that it has dramatically changed! I think I can say that our search becomes desperate...

The disappearing sign and the Turtle Green

Let me tell you the story about the disappearing "no entry" sign... When we arrived to Amman and the estate agent took us out to visit some appartments, she went down this small road and obviously saw the no entry sign, made a u-turn and took the next street. I remember, I thought it was weird! Obviously, there is a no entry sign, so why did she go down that road to start with? Then I didn't think anymore about it. Until one day, I noticed the sign had disappeared. The metal thing for the sign was there, but the sign no where to be seen. Then maybe a month after the sign reappeared?! And this has been going on 2 or 3 times since we arrived. Sometimes you can go down the road (very handy) and other times you are not allowed to. I do wonder if somebody steals the sign or maybe they need it for womewhere else!? As you can see today, the no entry sign is there, but a car is still on the way down the road: never assume anything when driving in Amman!

Then, this afternoon I met up with my friend M and her 2 kiddies and went for a walk down Rainbow Street. I have just realised that I haven't really talked about that area. Well Rainbow Street is located after the 1st circle and with Al Wakalat St. it is also a place where you can easily walk around. The pavements are more than okay and there are a some cafes, bookshops and other small shops to discover. One of the reasons I haven't written about the street, is that I haven't really been down there myself (walking around I mean). So this is the first post, with a few more to come as I discover the area myself! After a short walk we stop at a really lovely tea bar called the Turtle Green.

The place is small, there is a sitting area as you enter and then another one up some stairs. The place offers  free Wifi and was packed with young people surfing net, doing projects, people from the areas doing small meetings there. The crowd is a happy mix of Jordanians, Expats, students and business and of course today us mums. A little apology: the photos are not my best shots but with Bibs wriggling in my arms and trying to get hold of the camera, it is no easy task!

down stairs sitting area, selection of teas and the menu

I had a "Karka G", which is a hibiscus and ginger ale drink and the most yummi homemade carrot cake, Bibs agrees she just loved it! Price tag 5JD. They do pitchers, ice teas of all different flavours, lemonades, coffee drinks. There is no non-smoking area, but while we were there nobody smoked. So if you are in need of free Wifi and a cold drink it's definetely worth a visit! also if you don't need the Wifi...

Unfinished posts & holidays

For the past week I have started several posts and for some reason, I haven't been satisfied or I haven't been able to finish them. I think it has something to do with Bibs' sleep pattern. A few weeks ago she got sick (she is much better now), but it has completely disrupted her sleep and I am up again between 2 or 3 times a night to nurse and it is not what had become the usual 5 minutes but we are back to 15min. So, I am tired. No, I am exhausted. Specially now that the days are over where she would just sit a play a bit in her playpen. She is now crawling all over the place. So a tired mummy I am. Am starting to wonder if my daughter will ever sleep through? Maybe when she is 10?

Anyways.The good news is that we have finally booked our holidays. Bobs can unfortunately only take a week off, so we have decided to go to London and then I will take Bibs to my parents for a couple of weeks. Ah I can't wait, specially because I love to see Bibs & Bobs enjoying eachother, and during the week they don't get that much time together. Bibs loves to play with her daddy, they have their special games and she giggles all the time. When we are going to London we will enjoy the English countryside and live in a small village in Buckinghamshire. I am so excited to see my sister and her 3 kids and our friends that we left behind when we moved to Amman. Then of course we will have some proper Chinese food, and Malaysian, and Italian, oh and Indian as well. Shopping. Am going to shop till I drop! Mamas and Papas for Bibs, it's my favorite baby shop. Selfridges, Harrods, Oxford, Bond or Regent Street for us. Did I mention Westfield, the shopping heaven in South East England!? And Bicester, the outlet village close to Oxford, I nearly forgot that. Walks with Bibs on streets with pavements and in parks with trees and shade and water and animals.

These are some views from Green Park in London.

Am sure Bibs is going to enjoy having a talk with the geese, the ducks and the squirrels!

Then Bibs and I will be off on the plane by ourselves to Nice where a very excited Mormor and Morfar (the grandparents) are already waiting. Ouch, scary, just the 2 of us, I am not the big plane fan already, but I'll just have to be a big girl! Bibs has liked it the other times, so I hope that she'll continue. In south of France we'll enjoy the pool everyday, go for walks in the mountains and see old friends that I only see once a year or even less - maybe a day-trip to the sea.

Some views from South of France - the 2 first ones are on the old road to St Tropez and the last the view from my bedroom in my parents house

27 days to go and we'll take off and be on our way to London Heathrow! Can't wait...