Dead Sea, Jordan

Sunset viewed from Jordan.

     Travel lesson number three: Never believe an Arab cab driver. Our weekend started out lovely, leaving for the Dead Sea with 'the clique,' excited for the weekend. After taking the bus to Amman, our mission was to find a way to the resort. Stepping off the bus, we were immediately swarmed by every taxi driver in Amman. As we are learning Modern Standard Arabic (فحصى), the only people that understand us are those that have a higher education. In other words, not taxi drivers. Without Akrum and his عامسة, we would have paid a lot more than we did. The swarm around us began bargaining with Akrum. This situation was absolutely ridiculous. Six foot tall Akrum, holding a huge pink bag, bargaining with the herd of Jordanians, followed by five Americans. Each driver had a better "deal" for us.  As it was, the taxi drivers have a little game that they like to play. After reaching an "agreement," we got into two taxis and about a mile out, the drivers stop and get out to say that "actually, the price is..." After eventually (and by eventually I mean about twenty minutes and a lot of yelling) agreeing to a slightly higher price, we continue on our way. Dropping us off, the taxi drivers attempt to justify the price increase by calling us "rich" because we're staying at a resort. Unfortunately, this was not the last we would have to deal with these obnoxious drivers.

Floating, covered in mud, in the Dead Sea.

      The rest of our weekend at the Dead Sea was wonderful, and relatively uneventful. We checked into our rooms and were pleasantly surprised to find that we were upgraded to a mountain view. The view from our balcony was of the Dead Sea with Palestine behind it. It was gorgeous. That night we swam, enjoyed the swim up bar, and watched the World Cup. The next day, we awoke bright and early (thanks to Cassidy and Rebecca) and hung out at the pool. There, we met a group of engineers working for a consulting firm. They were from all over the world, South Africa, Canada, and Jamaica. They were working for a company that removes minerals from the Dead Sea. They took us to lunch in a really cute place outside of the resort. After lunch, we wandered down the beach and into the Dead Sea. I think I burned the soles of my feet off in the sand. Before embarking into the sea, we covered ourselves in the mineral rich mud. Venturing out into the Dead Sea was such a unique experience. The water literally pushes you to the top. If you try to stand, you "levitate" above the surface. The water was so warm, and it was weird knowing that there was nothing alive in it. It was also really interesting that Israel was just a swim away.

     That night, we felt a bit of the tension with Israel. Akrum, the Jordanian American, asked a resort worker what city in Israel was all lit up behind us. The worker sourly replies "It's Palestine" and abruptly walked away. We never did find out what city we were seeing. That night we saw a belly dancer, a band, and more dancers. We also heard from one of the hotel workers that not many Americans visit, it's mostly Arabs and some Europeans. I still can't believe that I'm seeing all of these places.

     Back to the taxi drivers. As there were no buses running the days we came/left, we called our taxi drivers. Shockingly, the price increased again as we drove further out. Unfortunately, that is how all taxi drivers in Jordan are and are an annoyance that I will not miss. I immensely dislike bargaining for everything. Granted, everything is ridiculously cheaper than anywhere in America, but it's an awful way to live. As we walked away from our taxi driver and our 20jd ride, I never wanted to get into a taxi again. Five minutes later, we got into another cab. However, this time the taxi was government regulated and not the slightest bit annoying. Our driver stopped at a fruit stand on the way to Irbid, and the vendors gave us free fruit and lettuce. Interesting. Back to Irbid, we immediately went to our most comfortable place, Port City Java. It happens to be the only American coffee shop in Irbid. And I've never been happier to pay an overpriced amount for a set price, no bargaining required.