According to the map, we weren't far from the hotel, but we weren't quite sure how far and we had our bags, and it was already hot at 8am. So when we went to drop off our key to the shop keeper across the road (as per the Air BnB host) we asked them how far it was really to the hotel.
"OOOOHHH that's VERY far. I will take you for $7 US.
Being new to the whole place and the cost of things we agreed.
It was 3 blocks away.
When we got to the hotel, our rooms were not yet ready as it was still quite early in the morning and so not yet check in time. They gladly stored our bags and we went off in search of the famed Citadel in the middle of Amman.
With our trusty tourist map in hand we began walking toward the citadel. It's really hot in Jordan.
We didn't find it that day - we wandered around the market a little bit, but it was really hot and loud and people-y. One thing we noticed - and loved - was that when approached by vendors, you only had to say no thank you once. That's it.
"Madame, have a look at this..."
"No thank you."
"Have a good afternoon, madame."
Its so nice not to be harangued!
We decided to go back to the hotel to see if our room was ready and maybe have a wee kip before we met the people we would spend the next week with.
Our room wasn't ready yet, but the lobby was air conditioned so we parked ourselves on one of the lounges there and looked over our itinerary again. A few minutes later 2 other women (obviously tourists also) came and sat on the lounge next to ours.
"Do you think they're on the same tour as us?" Dominique whispered to me
I sidled a look at them. "Yeah, probably. They look cool though!"
That's how we met Shann and Suan. And yes they were part of our tour.
That evening, after meeting everyone (we were 15 all up) we headed back to where Dominique and I had walked that morning to grab a bite to eat. The vibe was completely different and it was full of people out on the town. The falafels and hummus were delicious!!
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