Amman and the Jordan River

John and I started off the UAE National Day holiday in style, checking in at the airport lounge in Dubai before our flight to Amman.  It was pretty sweet!  It was the first time I've ever been in an airport lounge and now I'm officially hooked.  There was a buffet, drinks (also alcoholic), magazines, couches, wifi, and a place to take a shower at an extra charge.  People pay for this kind of comfort but luckily we got free access using our credit cards!


Our flight to Amman was 2.5 hours and I was so stuffed from the buffet at the lounge that I didn't eat much of my meal on the plane.  After arriving in Amman, we were greeted by our driver Omran, who picked us up quite late at night and brought us to our hotel downtown.  The air was so cold I could see my breath, first time that I've been able to do that in a few years!

Luckily for us the temperature warmed up a bit by the next morning.  After a breakfast of pita bread with zatar, hummus, and olives, we were off to check out the Roman Amphitheatre in Amman.  It is around 2000 years old!

From there we headed to the Jordan River to see the place which is believed to be the Baptism Site of Jesus.  It was amazing to be in a place where such a huge event took place.  Today, the river has meandered away from the original spot so the site is dry, but not too far away you can find the Jordan River.  I was surprised by how narrow it was.  You could literally wade over to Israel, but of course you can't cross the border that way and I'm sure a guard would catch you and send you back!  Near the river there were also a number of churches of various denominations.  The whole area was very peaceful and not overcrowded with tourists.  It was nice to visit in the off-season, as I imagine it would be busier during the summer months.

After our stop at the Baptism Site we got back in the car with our friendly driver Omran who told us a lot about Jordan as we drove to see a sunset at Dana Biosphere Reserve, and then on to Wadi Musa, several hours away.  From the first day we were impressed by the hospitality of Jordanian people and how beautiful the country was.

5 day weekend? Thanks, UAE!

We recently found out that instead of getting 2 days off school (Dec. 2 and 3) the UAE government declared that public sector employees will also get Dec. 4 off, which means that tagged on with the weekend (Dec. 5 and 6) we will have 5 days off of work!  Even though we technically work in the private sector, since we follow regulations from some public-sector organizations our school tends to follow public sector holidays.  We heard a rumour about this 5-day weekend a while ago but we had to play the waiting game until our school confirmed the holiday, much to the happiness of everyone!  Having 5 days off sent a lot of teachers' minds (including my own) into deep thought... travel opportunity?  Of course!

After a bit of thought, flights to Jordan were booked.  We were even able to get a decent deal on Emirates, one of the best airlines in the world, which is usually quite expensive to travel on.  Planning a trip to Jordan wasn't too difficult because we were already thinking of going there later on during the year during spring break.  I had even borrowed my friend's Lonely Planet Jordan book before we heard about the holiday.  To make things easier on ourselves, we're going to hire a driver (as we did in India) to get us around.

Although Jordan is surrounded by some off-limits countries, it is safe and everyone we know that has been there has loved it.  Because we'll be visiting Jordan earlier than expected, we have to think of a new destination for spring break 2015.  Where would YOU like to visit in 2015?

Brunch at the Creek

One of the most popular things for expats to do in Dubai is to attend a "brunch."  When I think of brunch, I think of that meal that's not quite breakfast, not quite lunch.  You know... maybe have some toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, juice at home in your pyjamas... I thought it was weird when I kept hearing of people attending brunches at fancy hotels.  Little did I know the scale of an epic Dubai Brunch.

Some Dubai brunches are in the evening (dinner?!) and some in the afternoon (lunch?!) so it still confuses me as to why they're referred to as brunches.  Each brunch will usually offer the option of having free flow alcoholic drinks.  The whole affair can be expensive (around $100) but when in Dubai, it's fun to embrace the luxurious lifestyle once in a while as a special treat.

A few weekends ago my friend Andrea decided to celebrate her birthday at a brunch (lunch?) at the Park Hyatt Hotel alongside the Dubai Creek.  One of the restaurants there, Thai Kitchen, has a brunch from 12-4:30 with several different drink packages to choose from (soft drinks, wine/beer, champagne, etc.) and a great selection of Thai food.

While some brunches are buffet style (like the one I previously wrote about at Celsius), the brunch at Thai Kitchen was served to us.  We sat outdoors under a covered patio surrounded by tropical trees, overlooking the Dubai Creek Marina, with servers bringing us small portions of Thai food to try.  We could ask for as many dishes as we liked, and it was nice to try everything.  There was a "rice man" coming around with a basket of rice, and the servers were so good that I didn't even realize my drink was being refilled half the time.  The curry and spring rolls were my favourite, and of course the mango sticky rice for dessert.  I would definitely recommend the Thai Kitchen as a place to have proper Thai food in Dubai.

Black bean ice cream... pretty good!

Mango sticky rice, my favourite Thai dessert

Thai iced tea

We stayed there the entire time of the brunch... so we definitely got our money's worth!  Sitting out near the water in the garden was very relaxing... I felt like I had been transported to a spa in Southeast Asia!  It was a great time out with new friends, and I'm looking forward to going back some time to get more of that mango sticky rice!

Dubai Creek Marina

The next big trip... Christmas 2014

Now that we've gone over a major hurdle in the school year, we can relax a bit and enjoy more time for trip planning.  We found a great deal on a round trip flight from Dubai to Prague, so we booked it for Christmas.  It will be nice to return to Prague again.  I didn't expect to be going there again so soon after our wedding, but I'm looking forward to visiting there in the winter time again, like when we first travelled there for Christmas in 2012.  That is when we got engaged!

So far the plan is to fly to Prague, then visit Brussels and Berlin before heading to Krakow.  We'll spend New Year's Eve in Prague before heading back to Dubai.  I'm looking forward to another great trip!  Anyone been to these places and have any suggestions?