First, calling the taxi service through the Al Ghazal (Trans AD) system was one of the most responsive services I’ve ever encountered in this city. Within five minutes of me calling to reserve a cab to take me to the airport, I was in the taxi on my way!
Abu Dhabi International Airport is one of my favorite airports in terms of getting through check-in and immigration. Though the airport itself leaves quite a bit to be desired if you have to spend any amount of time in it. So, I went quickly through all the lines and waited for my flight to board at Costa cafe beginning my writings and feelings of anticipation for the trip.
I flew Royal Jordanian because it’s part of the three major mileage conglomerates that I have cards for – One World – and I enjoyed their flights before when my mother and aunt visited last summer. So, the 2.5-hour flight to Amman was fairly uneventful, though the male passengers seemed to enjoy trying to move their seats to wherever they please until someone tells them they can’t sit where they like. When I got up to use the restroom some guy thought it was an opening to try to take my seat until I returned and explained it was still my seat…
The food on the flight was average, though I did enjoy the variety of choice from chicken or lamb instead of the usual beef option. π
It was only 7pm when I arrived in Jordan and once I disembarked from the plane, I was met by a Mohammed, from the tour company who helped me change money, pay for my visa and go through the immigration line. As I had no checked luggage, we quickly met the driver outside and were off to my hotel.
The drive in took about 40-minutes and I immediately felt that it was a much more civilized place than Cairo had been. The first tip-off was that people used their headlights at night regularly – not just when another car was approaching or when passing. Also, I noticed a number of female drivers as we sped by them and in general the landscape looked cleaner. Once inside the city limits, the traffic got denser and horns were heard more – though not nearly as much as one hears in Abu Dhabi at all hours of the day or night.
My lodging for the evening was the Dana Plaza Hotel – a four-star place – with fairly spacious rooms and kind staff. I settled in for the night with a shower, quick bite to eat at the hotel restaurant and some TV in my room. While I would have liked to have ventured out to explore, I could tell when we arrived that the location was not easy for a walk-around and I had read that going out at night alone as a single female traveler was not the best of options. So, since it was only the first night, I decided to just take it easy and wait for the morning when my tour would begin.
More to come…
-T
