Life in the fast lane

Petra (The Treasury to be specific) by Night

Feels like ages since I've made a post.  I've seen and done quite a bit in the last 2 weeks, so let's get to it! I spent week 1 throughout most of Jordan.  Main highlights include a trip to the Dead Sea, Wadi Musa (location of Petra), and Wadi Rum (famous desert in southern Jordan).  The Dead Sea trip is an easy day tour from Amman.  Being at the lowest point on Earth (400 m below sea level) is quite the experience.  "Swimming"  in the Dead Sea is a very bizzare experience.  Holding your legs straight underwater is like trying to balance a top - due to the high salt content, a force is constantly pushing your legs upward toward the surface.  Over 30% salt - the water feels really oily and has a very different feeling than regular water on your skin.  Swimming isn't easy because you have to use extra force just to keep your legs under water.  Not to mention, if you get any water in your eyes, it hurts like no other.  Floating in a lounge like chair position is the best way to experience the Dead Sea. 
     After 4 days in Amman (Capital of Jordan) and touring the various areas around it (Dead Sea, Mt. Nebo - place where God allegedly showed Moses the promised land, and Jerash - Roman ruins 40 mins north of Amman), I made my way south to Wadi Musa, the town next to Petra.  For those of you who don't know about Petra - it is an ancient city originally built by the Nabataens.  Throughout History, it changed hands several times.  It isn't strictly a Nabataen site anymore. Either way, Petra was voted as a New Wonder of the World and rightfully so.  Tombs 40 m high built into the side of enormous rock cliffs, Petra is best seen in person.  Petra is pretty spread out and provides endless breath-taking views.  If you go, bring your hiking shoes and a heavy wallet.  Admission into Petra is now up to $75 or so, by far the single most expensive admission ticket I've purchased on this entire trip.  Despite the cost, it was still VERY worth it.  On day 1 in the park, I hiked around for about 12 hours.  On day 2, I spent another 4-6 hours inside Petra.  Exhuasted and sore, it was a very rewarding experience.

Landscape around Wadi Musa

   Interestingly enough, the first day I arrived in Wadi Musa (aka Petra), I only visited Petra by night - a separate ticket for about $16 that lets you see the main site, the Treasury, by candle light. I thought about going to Petra during the day, but decided to wait until I could utilize a FULL day (the bus didn't get me into town until 10 or so).  As fate would have it, my lens on my nice camera lens broke that day, and at night, I ended up becoming sick.  For the next 3 or 4 days I sat around my hostel, waiting to be let go from the imaginary leash that tied me to the toilet.  Getting sick while travelling seems to be included in the ticket no matter what you do, but when you're in Wadi Musa overlooking Petra outside your room window and knowing that your lens for you nice camera no longer works - well let's just say it's a humbling experience.  A very frustrating one, but it gives you a little backbone because you realize you really have no control over the situation and that you just have to roll with the punches.  Moral of the story, I healed up, still had my point and shoot camera, and still had an unforgettable time.
     After my time in Wadi Musa, I travelled further south into Wadi Rum, an amazing desert in southern Jordan.  About 1.5 hours from Wadi Musa, I hopped on a bus and ended up joining a tour group into the desert for a day and night with local Bedouin people.  Not only was the desert completely stunning, but our group of people was equally enjoyable.  Myself, 1 other American, and 8 Japanese tourists.  From stone tossing games, singing and dancing with the Bedouin people in the tent, and a sumo wrestling tournament, it was easily the most fun I'd had in a while.  You'll be happy to know that yours truely took home the Championship trophy for the male contestants in the sumo tournament.  I took a million pictures in Wadi Rum, but as always, the pictures don't do the place justice.  Reminded me a bit of Monument Valley and the Outback in Australia, but I still found it to be very unique. 

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

    After my stay in Wadi Rum, I made my way back to Amman where I then spent the better portion of 5 days in Israel.  Holy smokes!  I could talk about this place forever.  I made it to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Bethlehem in the West Bank.  Jerusalem is an utterly fascinating place with so much historical and religious importance that it boggles the mind.  When you go into the "Old City" of Jerusalem (a walled section of the city no larger than 1.2 sq km) I guarantee you will be blown away.  Split into quaters (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian), approximately 40,000 people inhabit the Old City.    From the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (where Jesus is believed to have been hung on the cross and also placed in his tomb), the Western Wall (the ancient wall for the Temple of the Mount), to the Dome of the Rock (where Muhammad ascended ino Heaven), one begins to realize how important such a small area is.  Everywhere I walked within the old city, the only thing I could was "powder keg" - The Dome of the Rock sits on top of the alleged site of the Temple Mount, the Holy Sepulchre Church sits in the Christian Quarter, but a large portion of the "Via Dolorosa"  (the path that Jesus walked while carrying the cross) runs through the Muslim quarter.  Throw this all in the pot along with 1,000's of years of conflict and history  - just left me brain dead.  This may offend some people, but the whole thing seemed a little ironice and slightly amusing to me.  SUCH a small area of so much importance to so many people, it just seems absurd to fight over!  But this is the State of things, and within the irony of the situation, it is a sad reality.  Trust me, while the absurdity of the situation seems slightly amusing to some degree, a larger portion of me feels sad and disheartened to know that for all of the people who believe in these holy sites and hold them important that such measures are taken in fighting/hurting others for them.  I'm trying to avoid a political and/or religious debate on the matter but I felt I had to at least bring this part up. 
    In keeping with the same theme for a second longer, I did visit Bethlehem inside the West Bank.  Seeing the alleged birth and death places of Jesus in less than 24 hours is pretty crazy to think about.  Bethlehem is only 40 mins by bus from Jerusalem.  In fact, adding a geographical context to several important Biblical moments was one of the more incredible parts of my trip to Israel.  In one day you can walk in and around the Old City and see several important moments in Christianity (I'm sure the same can be said for Judaism and Islam, but I'm not as educated in these religions so I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about).  The tomb of King David, Room of the Last Supper, the place where Jesus "rested" before being arrested, the Via Dolorosa, etc.  The list goes on and on - and it's ALL right there.  Even if a lot of them are "alleged" sites, you can probably safely assume that it is at least somewhere in the very near vicinity. 

The wall that separates the West Bank and Israel

    I mentioned getting to Bethlehem from Jerusalem takes about 40 mins - not necessarily the case on the way back.  Safety checkpoint and the giagantic wall that separates Israel and the West Bank had a little something to do with this.  The Church of Nativity in Bethlehem was interesting, but the art/graffiti along the wall between Israel and the West Bank was far more interesting for me.  In the U.S. I feel like every other day you can read something about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  It seems as if the fighting has been going on since the dawn of time with no end in sight.  After a while, the news reports don't have that much affect on my thoughts or feelings - but man, going through the security check point and seeing the wall - well, it was literally a reality check.  Granted, no "conflict' occured while I was there, but you could easily still see the remnants of it. 
   Well, I feel as if I've written a small novel and still feel as if I've inadequately described what I've seen and done.  Such is often the case when trying to update you readers on what I've been up to.  This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what this trip has been like.  For the time being, I'm back in Amman, relaxing and saving a bit of money before I fly on to Turkey.  Over 8 months into my trip - less than 4 to go.  The closer to home I get, the more conflicted I become.  I'm excited to come home and see everyone and possibly have a semi-normal routine.  I'm also scared.  Looking for a job, finding a place to live, and most importantly, not necessarily having a 100% freedom to do what I want each and every day will probably take some getting used to.  It'll be a harsh reality, but if travelling has taught me anything, I know everything will work its own course, whether I like it or not.  : )   Go with the flow. 

January's Speedo Shot at the Dead Sea
The salt that got in my eyes
for this shot burned a LOT

Change of scenery

Today marks my last day in SE Asia.  After close to 2.5 months in SE Asia, I'm moving to a time zone closer to you.  Next stop, Amman, Jordan!  Yahooooo! 

Sunrise at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Let's do a quick recap of my last 2 weeks or so as it ended up being quite hectic (mainly thanks to my root canal procedure putting me behind schedule).  Because of my rushed schedule, I spent about 2-3 days in each of the following places: Ho Chi Minh/Saigon, Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and Siem Reap (Cambodia).  Average travel time on buses between each city - 8 hours.  Including all the sights, all the travelling, I managed to pack in quite a lot.  Some of you may have already seen the Cambodia pictures I posted on-line.  I believe some of them deserve a bit more explanation.  I was extremely captivated by the Cambodian people and their recent history.  I'm certain many of you have heard of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.  In 1975, Pol Pot and his regime established power in Cambodia.  Their mission: to rebuild Cambodia and take it back to "year zero."  In order to do this, they essentially went to war against everyone in the country and conducted a mass genocide nearly everyone.  Educated persons, foreigners, religious affiliated, etc. etc.  In less than 4 years of being in power (1975-1979) some 2-3 million died (murder, starvation, worked to death, etc).  A truly horrific time for the people of Cambodia.  The atrocities conducted by Pol Pot and those under him are almost unspeakable.  I visited 2 sites in Cambodia that brought me face to face with this hell on Earth.  In Phnom Penh (the Capital of Cambodia), a prison was set up called Tuol Sleng, or more commonly known as S-21.  Approximately 20,000 people were admitted to this prison.  Interrogated and tortured for confessions of their crimes nearly everyone who went to the prison never made it out.  Only 7 people survived.  Many of such prisoners were taken outside to what have been dubbed as the "killing fields."  Here, Khmer Rouge soldiers executed and murdered 1,000's of people and disposed of them into mass graves. I also visited this site.  I cannot express the profound impact both of these places had on me.  It's heartwrenching to know such events came to pass.  When walking around the killing fields, there are still pieces of clothing on the ground that has resurfaced from beneath the earth after floods.  There are also small pieces of bones and teeth still littering some of the area.  This realization hit me like a ton of bricks.  I couldn't take it anymore.  Both of these places weighed heavily on my heart.  My mind simply cannot fathom how a group of men and women could believe doing such things were a good idea.  I understand how people under the regime carried out orders in fear of their owns lives - but as for the people on top who made the commands - this I do not understand.  I learned a lot in Cambodia, but I still have much to learn.

Prison cell inside S-21, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

In spite of this devastating time, the Cambodia people never ceased to impress me with their happiness and quick smiles.  The average age for a Cambodian person is 23.  It's a bit strange to hardly see any older people.  Cambodia is an extremely fascinating place that I can't express in words.  Poverty, trash, "interesting" smells, new shopping malls filled with black market items, modern hotels being built, and a tenacious population of people with open hearts and smiles that make you feel welcome.  The have and have nots are very apparent, especially when you spot the occasional land cruiser going down the street in Phnom Penh.  I only spent 5 days in Cambodia.  Not nearly enough time.  There's so much more I want to share, but don't have the time at the moment.  I'll end my discussion of Cambodia with an interesting thing I was told by an expat living in Siem Reap.  For $100, you can shoot an RPG at a cow.  Things like this just give you the impression that you are in the wild west where the law is established by the amount of money you have.  No, I did not shoot an RPG at a cow.

Ta Keo Temple around the Angkor Wat area. 

I hope the New Year is treating everyone well so far.  Oh, and quick update about the root canal. I survived.  Things seem to be in working order.  Hopefully I won't have any other problems while I travel.  Just 4 more months - where has the time gone?