The dashboard is covered with a faded pink shag carpet. Tassels are hanging around the sides of the roof. The speedometer is stuck at 0. In the back are a young boy and a man in his late 30s. Behind them, next to two tires, is my backpack, full of clothes and a bottle of […] Read More…
Tag Archives: Jordan
Driver, Turn South 30 Jun, 2007
Outcast 30 Jun, 2007
“Fuckin’ mother Arab countries.”This was not a happy story.“14 years I worked in Libya. 14 years. Then they took my money and kicked me out.”The man was in his late 40s and dead sober.“They tell me I’m a spy. They take my money. $300,000. They take my apartment. They take my business.”I risk giving the […] Read More…
Out of Jordan 1 Jun, 2007
My last dive in Jordan was at night. There were three of us — Eero, me, and our instructor Abdullah — plus one soldier watching to make sure that all the people who entered the water came out again. We dove the same site earlier in the day, but at night it was transformed. Gone […] Read More…
Women in Jordan 28 May, 2007
So what about the role of women in society here? Let me skip all of the questions you may have because I don’t have the answers. I haven’t talked to anybody, man or woman, about the topic. All I know is what I’ve seen on the street, which is a variety of dress ranging from […] Read More…
Deep Water 27 May, 2007
Today, day 2 of my Advanced Open Water course, I went on a deep water dive as part of my training. My instructor took me down to 28 metres (~92 feet). As we swam down I had a dizzying feeling of slight panic at how far underwater I was. It was strangely similar to the […] Read More…
Diving in the Red Sea 27 May, 2007
From India / JordanWe pulled up on a beach owned by the prince of Dubai at about 9:30 yesterday morning. It was a barren piece of sandy land in the middle of an even more barren landscape of brown scorched hills by the Red Sea. Some evidence of its previous life as a public beach […] Read More…
Diary Notes from Jordan 25 May, 2007
From India / JordanDay 3We left Amman today to head south. Our days in Jordan’s capital city are remembered through a haze of nargileh (water pipe) smoke and falafel binges (total consumed so far: 21). We visited some of the Roman ruins scattered throughout the city, as well as a huge blue-domed mosque. Also enjoyed […] Read More…
On the Road Again 19 May, 2007
After a 6 week pause in India I hit the tarmac this morning, touching down in Jordan. The temperature was below 25C, a very nice change from the 40+ searing heat of Delhi. I’ve yet to do much apart from sleep (the 6:30am flight was precisely timed to prevent me from resting more than an […] Read More…