This has been one of my biggest breaks from travel. After my whirlwind trip to Kenya last September, this is the first time my passport will be seeing some action in 2014. This isn’t an ideal situation but my month-plus trip to France last June had left me literally bankrupt. I am yet to recover from the financial strain to be honest but wanderlust can only be kept apart so long.
So why Jordan, you ask? Here are five practical reasons –
One of the biggest reasons for choosing Jordan was the visa-on-arrival facility that it affords to Indians. Getting around a bunch of paperwork for leave was just too cumbersome, especially with strained bank accounts to justify to visa officials. One of my goals is to just let money accumulate in my account for a few months before my next big trip.
Second, the country seems perfect for the kind of travelling I have in mind. Honestly, the first destination was Madagascar. My sister wanted to get there and we had decided to travel together for the first time. I convinced her to switch over to Jordan because given the short number of days we have, it made sense to go to a closer and smaller place that could be covered completely rather than go to a place that was far away and could only be half explored.
Third, I managed to find a really good deal to Amman and back. By booking more than six months in advance, we had the luxury of picking the best flight deal and using the promotional offers that airlines have showered on fliers all through 2014 to Indian travellers.
Jordan seems to be the safest vantage point from which one can try to understand what the mood of the region is
Fourth, I was hesitant of the exchange rate when we booked our tickets. However, the rupee seems to have gone back to its 2013 levels. The rate of exchange when I went to Kenya was Rs 62.75 to the dollar. It is Rs 63 as of today (August 7). I haven’t tracked the Jordanian dinar as much but their currency seems to be going up, no doubt related to all the crises surrounding the region.
Fifth, the country seems to be in a strategic point in history. From the surrounding crisis between Israel and Palestine to the overall schisms in the Middle East, Jordan seems to be the safest vantage point from which one can try to understand what the mood of the region is. The refugees streaming in the country, reports of ISIS planning to target Jordan next and the country’s own interests makes this one of the most exciting times to be in Jordan.
Watch out for my itinerary in the next post coming soon. If you have any suggestions or ideas for me, please let me know in the comments below.
