عمان الاردن (Amman, Jordan)

First Pic after I arrived.



Another Pic I took today..

Couple of things that I've noticed. ...BTW it's 4AM as I write this so that's my excuse for any flakiness.

1) You fly roughly parallel to Israel and Lebanon on your way here from Frankfurt. This means that "If you look out of the left side of the airplane, you'll see the bright orange shelling and explosions going on in downtown Beirut." It is terrifically weird and a little troubling to watch the flashes and explosions that light up the smoke from the previous explosions. You have this sort of godlike detachment. And you realize both how fragile our existence is, and how willing we are to sacrifice and kill for things that only make sense to us.

2) The high end hotels here dont' mess around. Labor costs here are very low in general, and so the profit margin on service industries is quite high, provided the customer wants to return. The point being, that they bring you a nice wash cloth and a glass of orange juice as you check in. And check in, is at a very nice desk, and not some stand up counter. They even have a little sliding drawer (leather covered, natch) that they positionso that your glass and washcloth don't have to rest on the desk itself.

3) I would not want to live near a Mosque. I've nothing against them, but it's 4AM, and the muezzin are doing the call to prayer thing. Imagine some people yelling out a gregorian chant in a high pitched voice at 4AM next to your house. Yeah, you'd move too. Still, it's a interesting welcome back to the lands of Allah.

4) Having said that, so far, I am a fan of Jordan. Prices here can be a bit steep, and you can ripped off on cab rides etc. But the country reminds me of what it was like in Bahrain. Moderate Islam, that allows the infidels to have their whiskey in peace and not a lot of anger at everyone else for no reason. Then again, I've only been here 2 hours at this point, so I may want to check back in a few.

Regards,
-Bouncer-