Author: Ian Botts

Travels With Nate #11: Jerash, Jordan

Jerash, Jordan
Romans, Taxi drivers, Bars and Even a Hospital!

October 28th

Y’ello… Well guess what I have got! huhuhuhuh?!?

No? Well, I will give you some clues, then you can figure it out (also if you read I will just tell you!): What costs JD55 (US$80), and you wear it for a couple of months? Okay that’s it! LOL

Okay, anyways, catch-up time…

Nate and I spent most of the day at Jerash on Friday and loved every minute of it. You would have thunk by now that we would be sick of old cities and stuff, but that doesn’t seem to be the case… Hmmm, we shall see. Jerash is very complex and very large indeed. Most of the columns are still standing, and they are impressive. If you look along the roads you can even see chariot groves from all those silly Roman guys cruzin’ around the avenues! All in all, very very good.

That night was a bit of a flop though, as we all kinda seemed to be boring and fell asleep at like 9pm! (Nate was full of energy, but we just put him into the bag and zipped him up!)

Yesterday, however, was full of fun. Most of the day was spent being kinda lazy, and about all that was done was a quick mosey to the Roman Amphitheater in the center of town. All in all we just kinda enjoyed the city and had a relax.

Then we decided “lets go to the bar.” After a very very frustrating journey we made it to an Irish pub that was in our Lonely Planet guide, and went for some beers. The pub was cool, but no one decided to show up besides ourselves, so we headed back home at about 11pm, after downing a couple of “small” beers.

Now, I love Jordan, and the people here on the whole are super nice and don’t rip you off. However, in Amman the taxi drivers have a tendency to drive all around town so they can run the metre up before dropping you off. So I decided to put my foot down, I tell you.

On our drive back, what should have been a JD1 fare turned into a JD3 fare, as we were taken out of town then back in. Grrrrr. Well, stuff it. I gave the taxi guy JD1 and told him where he could put the rest.

He didn’t like that much, so he decided to try and pick a fight with me. If you know me, you know that I am a big guy and not very easily intimidated. (Nate says I am just fat and stupid, but who listens to him!) Well, I gave the guy a fright when he tried to push me, and I kinda just flicked his skinny butt away from me. He seemed to have settled down, so I crossed the street with my friends and headed to our hotel. The next thing I know I am getting hit in the back by a rock! Now that’s it. I turn, yell, and bolt at the stupid little man. His eyes got pretty big, since I move surprisingly fast for my size! Well anyways, I tripped and fell – SNAP!

Grrrrrrr I got back up and chased the little screwball another block on (what I will find out is) a broken ankle. LOL.

The one funny thing to come out of it is that he ran right past his taxi and down an alley way. I really shook up the little guy! hehehehehe.

I went to the hotel, cleaned myself up (with the help of Fee! Hey you super-cool chick who I love to death!) and went to sleep.

The morning rolled around nice and early with a knock from some of our friends, wanting our company to go to the Dead Sea. We all said sure, and as I went to get out of bed I almost cried because of the pain! I convinced my friends it was no big deal though, and said I was going to the doctor, but they should head to the Dead Sea. It took both Nate and I to convince them, but they finally agreed and left me to get to the hospital.

This is where the cool Jordanian people showed their true colors. I was given a walking cane by a total stranger in the hotel, and with some other people’s help I was half-carried (no small feat) to the street. We got a taxi, and they informed the driver that I needed to go to the King Hussein Hospital! Well, the people in the hospital were even cooler, and soon I had a gaggle of nurses and doctors helping me around and tending to my every need. They thought it was so cool that I wasn’t going to a private hospital and that I was trying to be local. (I couldn’t convince them I was poor!)

Anyways, my ankle was dislocated and fractured. I ended up with a nice cast (signed by the hospital staff), some cool photos – and a JD55 bill! Good stuff, I tell you!

Well, I am off to Syria tomorrow, and won’t be able to send an update while I am there. The government. has banned E-mail and Internet access, so I will make another update in Turkey. I love you all, and if I don’t send anything in a month send in the SWAT team!

PS: If you have any questions about places I’ve been or am going feel free to e-mail me at complexfire@hotmail.com