• Marko Bratkovič

Jordan

Uma 18aventura de um dia na Marko Leia mais
  • Inicio da viagem
    20 de outubro de 2021

    Goooood morning Amman!

    21 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    That's it for now. So amazing to fly and travel again! Last trip was India about two years ago, I soooo need this. Airplanes, covid tests, QR codes, visas,... Jordan, baby! 😎
    No way in hell I could drive to this hostel by myself, Amman is a maze. And the view is just awesome. Just standing here, watching the sunrise over the city. So nice. And just got greeted and waved by two lovely little girls who just went to school (bags bigger then them, of course) and tried to catch some scared kitten on the way. Random big city life is just ❤️Leia mais

  • Amman

    21 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Sleepless. After a breakfast and drinking coffee on hot sun I just hit the town. Time to explore. There is a Citadel close to the hostel so it's was a quick walk there. Runs from the past, when Jordan was under different controls and influence since it was in the middle of different empires. You can see lots of influence of Greeks, Islam and mostly Roman empire here, ruins are a mix of it all, from Hercules' temple to mosques. Pretty nice walk in the afternoon. Also went to see a Roman theater and oldest mosque in town. Sleepless hit me and had to go crash a bit since all Amman in on 7 hills it's all about walking up and down the hills. I survived 😂
    Dinner was just a quick kebab, which of course was crazy good (as always). After some chats with other visitors in hostel it was time to get some proper rest.
    Time for Jerash tomorrow.
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  • Jerash

    22 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Jerash is one of most preserved old Roman town. It's about 45 minutes drive to the north of Amman. I didn't wanna bother with buses so Uber was the way to go 😎
    It was great to see Jordan outside of Amman for the first time. It's dry, sand and stones everywhere, some little bushes here and there except for parts around Jordan river, they are a bit greener. There are fruit stalls on side of the road the whole time. Really nice countryside.
    Jerash is a small town but it has these ruins. And this is big. I overhead some guide saying they are trying not to make Jerash become super crouded tourist place.
    At first I thought "that's it?" and then I came to the second entrance where whole new world opens 😀 This is pretty amazing, there is Zeus temple, Artemis temple, theater, old shops, baths, it's a good two hours of walking around and exploring. It's good to dream what the city must've looked like back then. Romans sure had the style 😃
    It was pretty hot, so I got myself a hat (as always). Interesting - I bought SAME hat in India and Myanmar. One Chinese company is doing good 😂
    I wanted to take the bus back, but some dude offered a ride for 20JOD so why not! We talked using Google translate, laughed when translations came weird or awkward. He stopped to show me Jordan river and some part beside the road I'd never see otherwise.
    When I got back to the hostel I was wondering if there's some food I could order since I really didn't fancy the idea of walking down the hill and then aaaaall the way back up. They didn't sell food but offered I joined them - turned out the woman I asked was owner's wife so I had the lunch with them, their family, kids and grandson. The food here is so so damn good! I like to think it's healthy too, so if it's not, don't spoil the fun and tell me, deal? Great.
    Evening ended with a long walk through center of town, tons of cars, people, food, they have this desert with cheese and some stuff on it, really sweet and people are eating this on the street like crazy, whole families and all! I grabbed one and this is GOOD! No photos, I ate it 🤪 and while waking back to hostel some guy started talking to me, said he's a guide. Sooo I asked him to tell me where the liquor store is. Mission accomplished 💪 Ahmad is a guide, walks through the city, showing people around, knows everybody on the streets. Fun guy.
    So.... writing this while sitting on a terrace of a hostel, having my birthday beer and looking forward to tomorrow's Wadi Mujib and Dead sea. This is what it's all about: waking up in the morning being excited what the day will bring and in the evening smiling with memories about another great day and thinking about what new adventures next day will bring.
    Cheers! 🍻
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  • Wadi Mujib and the Dead sea

    23 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Having breakfast and morning coffee in hot Jordan sun is just the best. Aaaand the driver came, time to go! 😎
    Haithan is a cool dude. Great english so we could talk about everything. Politics, religion, Jordan, world, time sure flied. Seeing Jordan's countryside is just wow. And soon we were starting to just descend. Dead sea is around 400m below sea level. There is actually a sign that marks it. Crazy. And in distant you see Palestine and Israel... and suddenly - dead sea. Great place, all deserty and temperature quickly goes above 30. On the way you see camels! Yay! Such cool animals 😊 There isn't much around the sea, some resorts on one place and that's about it.
    After an hour and a half we arrived at Wadi Mujib. A canyon. I was all excited. Costs like 21JOD and 10 for a wet bag. Need to take photos!
    Once you go around the corner you are like holy shit! This gorgeous! Red stone, narrow canyon, water just the right temperature. You just walk there... and then it gets deeper, you swim, climb ropes, ladders, jump in water, slide. It's insanely fun! It takes around an hour to get to the end where you meet a waterfall. This is really so much fun and refreshing!
    Next up was soaking in the Dead sea. Since public beaches are closed (covid) and that means no showers, which are a must, I was offered a day ticket to some Crown plaza five-star resort. Pretty nice place but I just spent my time on the beach, put mud all over me and floated in extra salty water. Oh you feel every scratch, it burns little. You just sit in the water and float. You can't even swim because it turns you around 😃 Water feels oily but the feeling is great!
    Finished it all with a beer (9JOD!) and some fancy lunch, where I took all the yummee desserts 😋
    Back at hostel now, need to pack, tomorrow early morning I have a bus to Petra 😃
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  • Petra!

    25 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Alright! Petra time! And got named Mr. Corona the first thing in the morning by a bus guy. Yeah, I coughed instead of saying my name 😃 So... It's basically just a 10JOD 3h ride with a Jett bus from Amman to Wadi Musa. Desert road with a beautiful scenery around. Quick nap and there we were! Along we had the best sandwiches (vegi stuff) that we just bought on the street, so yummy!).
    After settling into hostel (er.. cabin) it was time to go where Indiana Jones went. A semi-short stroll through the canyon and there we were - the treasury of Petra. Amazing as I thought! This is amazing. There weren't THAT many tourists which was fine.
    Many guides want your attention but we picked the one who was the least pushy. So he took us to the path above to see the treasury. Along the way we got all kinds of info, kicked some little green thingies for the tea (I drink so much of this here). Basically this is just an entrance. And then the whole show opens. Theater. Sacrifice stone. Tens of homes, holes, stone walls of all kinds of colors. Just majestic! It all about hiking, climbing, taking a extra effort to avoid the tourists and experiencing this huge and beautiful old town. Enjoying the views. Beyond words. Also just like every proper city - they have transport here - donkeys and camels. I love their sweet soft steps 😊
    Note the video - calling for the prayer. Just amazing.
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  • Petra is just 🤯

    26 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Of course you need more than a day in Petra. Everything less should be illegal 😃 We went go visit Little Petra. It's a similar town, way smaller though. So the plan was to see it in 15 minutes. It's a quick walk through, but we found this awesome café and the driver wasn't impressed that we took a whole hour 😊 But it was just so nice and we met this guy who was playing this instrument made of sheep. See pics 😊
    You can go to the Monastery either through Petra or the back entrance, which means no tourists and lots of desert. Hiking time! So while you walk you meet kids selling you donkey rides, you meet locals and you can sit and drink tea with them! So nice 😊 You basically come from outside to the inside of Petra by walking on stairs, hills, rocks, you name it. And views you see on the way are just amazing! There are actually chairs on the way where viewpoints are. And nice bedouins selling you tea, "original coins" and offer you a burning wood when you ask for a fire to light a smoke 😂 Oh, and goats be there too. Of course. It's such a wonderful trek, so much beauty, the journey is more worthwhile than the destination ❤️ Don't get me wrong, Monastery is wonderful and HUGE!
    Every day can be such priceless and beautiful beyond expectations. Jordan just never stops giving. I love this place 😊
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  • Wadi rum , the desert

    27 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Sadly we had to say goodbye to Petra. We could easily spend another day or two here. But it was time to move on. 😌
    The hostel booked us a car to drive to Wadi Rum. It's just an hour ride to get to the village and Mohammed was waiting for us already. With a jeep. Funtimes ahead! 😎
    We drive for about 20 minutes into the desert to the campsite. Mohammed is the owner and a really funny guy. He runs the camp and is really happy tourists are coming back. He also has this chef that makes awesome food, some stuff with beans and tomato, no idea what is called though. And they loved my tobacco haha.
    We had our own tent and after some nap we went walking into desert. I also had to make burpies video for Primož, our hiit coach. Desert is so nice. And quiet. Not a sound nowhere. We found this nice place to watch the sunset. And make a timelapse of it. Later we found Mohammed was searching for us. As seen on video 😂
    Evening ended up with campfire talks, lots of tea and watching night stars in the desert. So nice and peaceful.
    And tomorrow - it's a daytrip go desert day 😊
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  • Day trip in Wadi Rum

    27 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Oh it's jeep and hiking and desert time!
    OP, this cool Canadian dude and a Chinese lady joined us on a trip. And what a trip it was! 🤘
    So after breakfast we first had a stop near some mountain where water comes from. We did a little hiking to like half the way. Luckily we had proper shoes. Next up was a sand dune, ti which we walked up to get this crazy view. So nice. And there was this natural bridge also. So many photo moments 😊 It's just insanely beautiful. Made me think like a week ago I was in foggy office and now - the desert! This planet is just so beautiful, we really need to take better care of it. We can do it! 💪
    After lunch it was time to see where Laurence of Arabia was filmed. Aaaand more hiking to high places to take photos haha. There are also canyons we walked through, PO went sand boarding while me and Lillian laughed at this funny family with little kids commanding their dad how to board "don't you know what LEFT mean?!". Hilarious 😂 Yeah, this is a note for my memory haha
    Day ended with another great sunset. The colors of everything are just crazy. This is really such rainbow country 😊
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  • Aaand to Aqaba

    29 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    After morning coffee, breakfast and goodbies we headed back to village and hired a taxi to take us to Aqaba's south beach. It was time to chill for few days near the Red sea. Aaaand they have this diving center in the resort so of course we signed up! Since Jordan is so great... I changed my plane ticket to just stay here for one more week, do some remote work (still, business doesn't wait).
    In the evening we went to Aqaba town, we were starving so we order everything. So much that the waiter was like "maaaaybe that's too much" 😂 It was good but too much haha. The only thing left to do was just go to town's beach and chill. We were amazed how peaceful and calm it was. Everybody ring chilled, families talked, no one on phone, no drinking and yelling like this would be in Europe (just sayin', no complains). Dead tired just went home 😴
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  • Scuba diving 🐠🐟🐡

    31 de outubro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Some chill&work days by the sea. What else to say. Because I extended my trip of course I had some work to do. It sure takes time to get synced back and to turn the brain back to thinking in code 🤣 I was coding. I so wanted to do the open water Padi license but ... work and diving would leave me not much time to relax. But I'm doing that in Thailand next time or something.
    And yes, we went diving. Lilian did her advanced open water diving license and I was allowed to join on one dive. It was AMAZING! So many fish, such serenity and silence under water. Wherever you look there is some different fish or whatever that thingy things down there are 😊
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  • Dana

    2 de novembro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We had time to kill and country to see. So we came up with a plan: Dana (natural reserve) and Madaba town, which is also near airport.
    Way to Dana was interesting. We used local bus and were a bit of attraction to younger passengers 😃 It's a 3 hour drive and then they just throw you out in some village. Greeeat. We though we'd have to walk for couple kms and already switched shoes... so this guy comes and offers us a ride. Turns out - he's the owner of a hotel we booked! So nice. Soon we reached this tiny village with big canyon behind it. And the nature around it is just breathtaking.
    People are so nice in Jordan. Owner saw us sitting outside of hostel and just gave us bread, fresh cheese and told us to pick up fresh tomatoes from the ground. Yumm-ee! This is proper food haha. Since it was closer to sunset we went on edge of canyon to watch it. Sooo wonderful, so many colors,... Jordan never stops to surprise. Or as locals say often - "Welcome to Jordan" 😊
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  • Dana is amazing

    3 de novembro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    In the morning we went for a sunrise view. Pretty amazing seeing whole valley waking up, all the colors, donkeys having breakfast 😃 We did some walking around and went to a bar for grab some water and maybe a snack. But was met with a nice offer - we can either eat there or go for a trip down in the valley with a guide, just for some extra payment. Hell yeah!
    The guy picked us up in a jeep and drove us around, the scenery is amazing! The colors are just crazy. Shortly he stopped and it was time to walk. We had soooo much fun, there are caves where people used to live, beautiful rock formations, sheep,... The guide showed us many things then went to a ledge to prepare us a lunch! He made fire, cooked eggplant and tomatoes, tasty fresh bread, sooo good. Sitting in the middle of nowhere, eating with the view of sheeps below and ancient huts/caves. Priceless! This park is quite awesome, yet easily missed by tourists 😊
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  • Madaba

    4 de novembro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    In early morning it was time to leave for Madaba. We took the regular bus, small, packed, full of locals being interested in us haha. Driving in Jordan is so nice, seeing endless deserts, each being different color. After 2 hours or so we came to Madaba. Well, close to it. The thing is they just stop on the highway and out you go. It was either getting off the highway and hitch hike or something but I started talking to some guys there and one offered us a ride pretty cheap. And before we knew it we were in Madaba 😊
    This is a nice city, all the streets with bars and restaurants. We spent the whole day walking around and finally stopped at this great café Lilian found online. Really chill garden, lots of cats, great coffee, teas, sandwiches. We just chilled for the whole day. We sat, we talked, putting cats off the table all the time, they are so lovely! This café also has a library, really one of the nicest cafés ever.
    In the evening I tried to get the pcr to be able to fly home and guess what - results take 3 days! And I leave in 2? Problem!
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  • Last day 😶

    5 de novembro de 2021, Jordânia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Last day of Jordan for me. So first thing in the morning was a trip to airport for a pcr test. I wouldn't mind staying for longer but work awaits.
    After the test me and Lilian went to the town again, walking around, teas, food, having a chill day again. We ended up in the same café as the day before. The cats were waiting already for us, haha. We spent whole afternoon talking and laughing, ended up on the roof of some bar for some tea and shisha. Wrapping my thoughts about the trip. And preparing to leave not just Jordan but also Lilian behind, goodies are never good. But it's not over yet. We've decided to go to dinner. We had to walk far and when we reached the restaurant they were closing. Noooo. But some random guy came to us and asked what we wanted so we said food. He invited us to drive with him and he'll show us where to eat good. Awesome!
    He drove us around, explained us all about Madaba, himself, the restaurant he's just opening, really nice person. We said we want rice and chicken so we went to one bad that makes best rice - I got to taste like 3 rices to pick one. Then we drove to another part to get some shish kebab / chicken. For all we paid like 3€ 😂 In the end we said goodbye to the guy and went home, set the dinner on balcony with candles and all 😊
    We had a wonderful night, but were getting said that trip is coming to an end. But hey, this only ends this trip, who knows how all this with Lilian will continue 😉
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  • Jordan, you were awesome!

    6 de novembro de 2021, Turquia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Waking up at 2am, saying goodbye to the most wonderful girl I've just met. Going home is always hard. But I think this is just the beginning of something... 😉

    Airport, sleepy as hell. 7 hours in Istanbul, traditionally going to Burger King on airport. Of course 😂 Finally made it to Venice and off to Ljubljana, straight to a party 😃

    Traveling is one of the lost wonderful things. Not because we use it to chill from work. We use it to meet the people, meet the world, meet the cultures. Jordan is one pretty amazing country, really nice people, wonderful nature and interesting history. Petra was no doubt the highlight. I cannot see hummus for a while now but other than that - I love Arabic food. There is still much to discover here so these parts will certainly see me again 😊
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    Final da viagem
    6 de novembro de 2021