Dec 27 - Out the door into darkness at 6:50 for the hour ride to Queen Alia International Airport. For once have an honestly friendly taxi driver who doesn’t push me for extra money. As unwelcome as it is to get up in the dark and feel the panic of last-second packing, it at least usually means minimal traffic. I have not been at this airport before, but it slick, modern, and simple to use. I have a couple of concerns for today, since we are sort of going off the traveler grid.
The first is the Jordan visa situation. These were bundled in what is called a Jordan Pass, which includes visa fees plus entrance fees for many of Jordan’s archaeological sites. By buying the pass (70 JD), we save money already by going to Petra and at least one other site. However, they don’t issue the Jordan Pass for nine-year olds, since they have free site entry. I would have bought her a simple visa (20 JD) upon entry in Aqaba, but the catch is that Aqaba is a special economic zone and no visas are required upon entry (they assume you are leaving the same way). So, because we are leaving from Amman, in theory Odette must have already been issued a visa but of course we did none of this the ‘normal’ tourist way so she doesn’t have one. Rather than fussing around in Amman trying to figure out what we should do, I decide to leave it all to Fate and just pitch up at airport immigration. The only precaution I take is to show up early, in case we are sent to some office for ‘extra processing’. As it stands, the passport agent does take a lot longer with Odette’s passport, but in the end stamps it without any questions.
It is easy to tell who else is going on our flight today. Jeddah is one of the main ports of entry for pilgrims doing Hajj in Mecca. They are easy to spot, as all the participants are dressed in very simple white robes, in some cases just modified towels. The dress is called ihram and meant to symbolize purity and oneness (with other Muslims). Roughly a third of the passengers on the flight are dressed this way.
COST SUMMARY:
This is our final day in Egypt and Jordan. The two are probably about equivalent cost-wise. We took many taxis over long distances, and had a total of nine day-long tours. It could have been done for less, had I the time and energy to look for cheap alternatives. Hence, the daily cost below is at the very high end of expectations. I would definitely shave a fair bit off if I were to plan it again.
Projected daily cost from the pre-planning phase = $150/day
Realized daily average costs for Nov 30 - Dec 27 = $158/day
The share of this cost apportioned to lodging was 22%, food 17%, and transport 13%. Entry fees for touristic sites and day tours came in at 46%, the highest so far on the trip.
JordanSaudi Arabia