I went to the Jordanian Museum today and I thought it was really interesting, especially the ground floor. The upper floor is mainly for students or children I thought.

It’s well laid out and you follow a path through the ages with artifacts dating back as far as 7500 BC. It’s staggering to think just how old that is. Ancient statues made from plaster with faces so delicate, I really enjoyed these.

Then we had the different forms of writing and how today’s languages evolved and much of it comes from this part of the world.

I spent nearly two hours in here taking my time to read and to study the exhibits and I felt that I had not wasted my time.

After here I headed to Rainbow Street, apparently the place to see but I’m not sure why. I left here and moved up to the adjacent street to where I saw a quiet Waffle House Cafe and went in there and had sausage and egg, French toast with blueberries and cream which is not a combination I have tried before but it was remarkably tasty.

What a relief to see clear skies as we flew into Jordan. Stepping outside of the terminal I was able to get some fresh air into my lungs for the first time in days. I had a driver meet me at the airport which was just as well because it was a forty minute drive to the hotel and I really didn’t want to figure out how to get there by any other means.

The hotel is in the downtown area and so it’s a little bit chaotic, however the room is relatively quiet and the bed is comfy, there is air conditioning and a hot shower. So all is well. The downside of Jordan is that it is expensive, the Jordanian Dinar is a very strong currency. $1000 does not go far.

It’s a very hilly city. If you were to stay here then I feel that your legs would be like an athletes, muscular and tight. I walked up one staircase to meet with an adjoining road and it had 200 steps. I had to stop briefly about two thirds of the way and by the time I got to the top my calf’s were complaining.

There is over five thousand years of history here and as the city had increased it has scaled the heights of the valley. I like the layout of Amman, it makes it an interesting place to wander around and although there are parts of it that are busy, compared to Egypt it is a doddle.

I hope Jordan is not like this. Everyone wants money from you for literally doing nothing. It might be if they show you which direction to go. They ask you a question and then it might finish with the outstretched palm.

I’ve just arrived at the airport after my short commute across the air bridge and when I go through the first lot of baggage security some lackey tries to take my case from me and so I tell him no thank you. He then approached the couple in front who have a few bags on a trolley and give them the same spiel and then immediately asks for money. His side kick warns him that I am watching and they covertly exchange some cash. He does the same with the guy behind me and proceeded to put his bags in front of mine at which point I removed them and put mine back in front and then told him to bugger off. I’m really fuckin’ sick to the back teeth with this nonsense. Everyone in Egypt seems to break the rules and many look like they have.

I just went to the departure gate and bought a coffee at the cafe there, by the way… Its shit!

Oh and to make things worse there are two staff and several other people smoking to their hearts content right under the no smoking sign. I mean what the fuck? If the security is doing it then everyone may as well join in. My lungs are only just beginning to recover, I’ve still got a niggly cough which is only being made worse by these fuckers.

At this point I’m ready to go postal. I just hope that Jordan is an improvement 😭

Appeared from the lift and proceeded to noise the place up with their whoops and the like as they gathered around the tour guide. Selfies and chatter took place for the next twenty minutes upsetting the ambience of the cafe and disturbing my own inner peace that I have just managed to acquire after two weeks in Egypt.

They’re definitely not self conscious and certainly don’t seem to have any decorum… But they are a strange species that you could study for years. They are very dangerous creatures and should certainly not be underestimated. As you know they like to shoot first and ask questions later.

Five star hotel at Cairo Airport. I had an epiphany at two o’clock this morning. I’d tried to go to sleep early because I was just exhausted. I found my earplugs, stuck them in and the next thing I know it’s 1 am.

I’m thinking to myself as I hear the noise coming from the street below that there has to be a better way . I decide to leave the next morning which is one day earlier than planned and then I can spend the night in Cairo and recharge the batteries.

This hotel Le Méridien is rather expensive, it’s just under the $300 mark, however I can walk to the terminal tomorrow and the room is quiet and I need a little bit of TLC before I move on to my next country which is Jordan. This is the expensive leg of the trip. All the hotels should be good on this leg, and in fact I think all the budget stuff has been done.

The bus trip here took four hours and that was a bit of an adventure. As in China they like to play really loud movies as soon as your arse hits the seat, thankfully I had my earplugs handy from last night and they seemed to do a pretty good job. The woman next to me was not impressed and asked someone to talk to the driver and he turned out down. The movie seemed to have the same depth as A Fast and Furious movie, so shite.

Shortly afterwards as we approached midday the old dear next to me dug out her Koran and started to have a chat to the big man upstairs. It’s funny you know on the planes they tell everyone to pray from their seat and of course she did the same. Mind you I’ve noticed in certain parts of Cairo there are prayer mats set up in certain places were I guess you can get your thing on and bang a gong.

So I’m now sitting in the sports bar having been fed and I’m also on my second glass of red wine so I should hopefully sleep to night, however my nose is currently decided to stop working so it might not have been a good idea to have had two glasses of red as I’ve not had a drink for months. But you only live once and I may as well indulge while I can.

I’m checking out a day early, I just can’t face staying here one day more. I’ve not really done or seen anything but I just can’t cope with the noise, the pollution and I just want a good night’s sleep. I’ve booked into an airport hotel which is costing a small fortune but if rather do that too escape the misery that is Alexandria.

Maybe if I had come here at the beginning of the trip I might have been a bit more sympathetic, but Egypt wears you down if you travel the way I have. I guess if you are on a private tour and you only get to meet and see the things you are supposed to your view might be somewhat different but I’ve never really enjoyed sanitised travel. At least the way I do it I can see warts and all however at times it becomes all too much as it has on this trip.I’ll no doubt look back on this fondly when the wounds have healed.

The two other countries that I’ve felt the same way about are Burma and India, both have some amazing places but because of what feels like exploitation by locals, the journey for me was spoiled.

My suggestion for Egypt if you are only interested in the ancient history of the Pharaoh’s then I suggest two days in Cairo to see the museum and Pyramids, go to Luxor and Aswan to see the wonders that they have left behind. These are all doable by yourself, no need for a tour guide unless you want one and you’ll save a fortune. Many times said tour guides were using Google to get much of the information that they would then dramatise, save your self the money and buy a sim card at the airport.

The other thing to note about the tour guide is that you only have them for a short time and so they tend to rush you through some of these wonders which is something I could not abide.

On the surface Alexandria looks quite nice when you see the pictures of the esplanade and a new area called the Corniche but don’t be fooled. I arrived yesterday and wish I could leave today, Egypt has broken me. Well I think it was more Cairo, however the constant hassling you get on a daily basis takes away from what might be a great experience. There are more and more subtle ways they use to lull you into submission to take what they are offering.

If I do return it will only be to see Abu Simbel and maybe Luxor as there is so much to see there that you could spend weeks.

I’m staying not far from long crescent coast line which just happens to be the heart of the city and so the traffic can be intense and guess what at night time there are horns a plenty and the cries of people shouting at each other, absolutely no decorum. But the smell of exhaust fumes is by far the worst. I’ll need a new pair of lungs after I leave here.

When I arrived yesterday I went for a walk along the esplanade after grabbing a couple of kebabs, mind you this time they were not good and so I ended up giving most of it to my new furry friend that appeared after a few short minutes. At least he seemed to enjoy it.

On the breakwater side there are huge concrete blocks which are not interlocked and so there are alleyways between where rather large rats roam feeding on the detritus that the locals throw away and I think if one of the cats had a fight the rats look quite capable of winning. The trouble is that most of the rubbish is just that…..mostly plastic from takeaway and empty water bottles and meanwhile the local bin man who patrols this area has an empty cart because all the shit is elsewhere. Just as in China I’ve seen so many people throwing their rubbish on the ground without a second thought. I look forward to the day when I’m watching the news and I see these giant rats ripping the locals apart and casting their bones into the sea.

I found my earplugs and came back to the hotel to try and catch up on sleep, I’m dog tired. I got up at about 3:30 pm and thought I’d better eat so I went to a restaurant across the road and ordered this rather large chicken breast and then proceeded to remove all the skin but it was still tasty. I never eat the skin of a chicken. This cost around $10 Aud and was definitely better than the street food I had the other day.

Counting the hours till I’m on the plane, to get away from this mental part of the world.

A change of scenery today as I went to the Islamic Art Museum to get a different history than that of ancient Egypt. It was cold today too and so I went and had coffee first before getting an Uber into the museum. I’m enjoying the Uber option because the haggling had been taken out of the equation. The drive into the city was frantic as always and I’m looking forward to leaving tomorrow. I hope Alexandria is better than here. Cairo is way too chaotic, polluted and noisy and I’ll be very glad to see the back of it. I doubt that I’ll return to Egypt, even though I never got to Abu Simbel earlier in the trip, but then again I might change my mind if I’m in the vicinity.

So I’ll go outside an buy something to eat and then come back and pack and get ready for my bus trip to Alexandria in the morn.