After a long day of waiting around to catch the ferry, I finally arrived at Aqaba port late in the evening. My plan of getting the bus directly to Amman was out so I was to stay in town for the night.

At the ferry terminal I met a Dutch traveller by the name Bob and we shared a cab into town. We found a hotel mentioned in a guide book and shared a room for the night.

After dropping off our stuff we went exploring in search of some food. We found a little falafel joint full of locals and took a seat. We didn’t needy order either – a bowl of falafels, a bowl of pita and a bunch of dips appeared and we hungrily dug in. It was definitely the best falafel I have ever had – and with drinks cost a grand total of 5.50 JD for both of us!

In the morning I decided to stay and explore Aqaba instead of heading directly to Amman. From the coastal town you look into the Gulf of Aqaba, and directly across the water to the Israeli town of Eilat and the Egyptian town of Taba. In fact, it is only 11 kilometers from Jordan to Egypt across the tiny portion of Israel that borders the Red Sea.

Bob and I went wandering past the huge and expensive hotels and resorts that have been built near the Israeli border, then along the beach in front of the town.

I later found out that the U.S. Government had issued a warning for that day directly referring to an imminent possible attack on Aqaba. It could have possibly been something to do with the Jewish public holiday Yom Kipper, but nothing happened.

In the afternoon hopped on the 4 hour bus that took me back to Amman. It was a short stay in Aqaba, but it is a nice resort town full of friendly people.

This post is tagged Aqaba, Jordan