Jordan!

After a good night's rest, we woke up around 9am (February 15, 2020) and went for breakfast. I was excited because the eggs were actually good and not liquid today at the hotel! We also researched a little bit more about our trip and booked our tickets to Jordan! We have been wanting to visit Petra for a long time. I'm very excited to see this part of the world as it seems so different than anything I'm used to. The culture and history of this region is quite fascinating.

After eating and researching, we went back to our room and packed up as check out was 11. We headed to T3, where Royal Jordanian departs from. We have never flown with them, but everyone says they are wonderful and we're always excited to get a new airline when we can. Check-in for our flight didn't open until 12:30 so we waited for a bit in a seating area. There was a Pret and WHSmiths that we browsed, but we didn't get anything.

Yummy-looking fruit cups at Pret

Once we could check-in, we went to the counter and they assigned us seats together, 34 A and B. We then cleared security and stopped at a Boots, which is a drug store chain. Hunter wanted to get more cough drops as we were running low. They were £.60 each so it was a decent deal for an airport purchase! We also got some extra strength cold and flu meds. We then also stopped at a store called Dixon's because we needed to buy an outlet adapter as Hunter accidentally forgot to bring his. We got a very similar one that works worldwide and it was a good purchase as now both Hunter and I will each have one.

Boarding passes

After getting out shopping needs fulfilled, we headed to the priority pass lounge. Unfortunately, they were full and we were not allowed in. We then went to check the other lounge, but they had a line coming out the door, so instead, we decided to go have ramen at Wagamama! It was a good choice as we both have sore throats and soup definitely helps! While eating we also ordered our Jordan Pass which is a tourist pass that covers your visa fee (around $40 each) and allows entrance to a ton of attractions, including Petra which otherwise costs about $70 each. We also had plans to stop at a few other attractions, so it was really worth it at about $100 us each for the pass. I also found a hotel for our night in Amman that looks quite fancy and was well priced. It is called Ayass Hotel.

Eventually, our flight was assigned a gate and we headed there. Our flight was delayed a few minutes because the inbound was late, but in the end, we were only 4 minutes late from push back. Royal Jordanian boards from the back to the front, so we were on the plane and in our seats very quickly! Boarding was interesting to watch and people moved around quite a bit. The flight crew was pretty good at getting everyone where they needed to be. Once we took off, it wasn't long before I was sleeping. Hunter read the lonely planet book for Jordan while we flew and I watched some Netflix once I woke up from my nap.

Our plane to Amman

The safety video was a cartoon

About 2 hours into the flight and 3 hours till landing, they served dinner. It was surprisingly delicious and plentiful for economy, but that's what we often find when flying on European and Asian carriers. Hunter and I both had the fish option and it came with a roll, coleslaw, the main with veggies, fish, and potatoes, and for dessert a little slice of delicious pie which we think was rhubarb. We also had sprite light as they didn't have any diet coke type drinks.

After eating, they dimmed the cabin lights for the last hour. Before we knew it we arrived in Amman Jordan! We cleared passport control and got a visa stamp and an entry stamp and headed to get our rental car. We got a small-ish blue car. We were quickly shown it and shown that the gas tank only had 70km distance and then told we can leave. We then started towards the hotel we booked, stopping for gas on the way which was not super cheap, about the same as in Vancouver.

We finally got to our hotel 30 minutes later and waited to get checked in. It was 1am at this point and the front desk man was unable to find our reservation which was odd because I had a confirmation email. Eventually, he was able to get everything sorted and we got to go to our room. The room, which was actually two rooms, was huge! We had a sitting area and a bedroom with a king-size bed. Hunter and I were pretty tired, so we showered and went to bed.

The hotel room