I stayed at the Hakaia Community hostel in Aqaba for two days. The staff was so kind. One girl even made Turkish coffee for me. The place also offered free tea and breakfast. 

I met Christopher and Sami there. Both are travelers from the United Kingdom. Christopher is in his mid-30s and Sami is taller and younger, but I forgot his age. Along with a Chinese woman named Amira, the four of us had dinner at Khubza & Seneya. That’s about all I did on the first day.

The next morning, Christopher and Sami took a taxi to the ferry terminal in Tala Bay Marina then took the boat over to Taba Heights in Egypt. Sami later provided me some intel about the bus ride to Dahab from Taba Heights since I’ll be going to the same town the next day. There is only one bus, the Go-Bus, that goes from Taba Heights to Dahab for 170 Egyptian Pounds, which is about $3.58 USD. It departs at 4:05 PM. Their website said the ride is six hours long, but it’s actually a two hour ride.

In Aqaba, I visited the Aqaba Fort and the Aqaba Museum. I also had the cheapest meal in Jordan at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that locals go to. It was 1 JOD for three falafel wraps and a yogurt drink, or about $1.40 USD.

I was feeling exhausted from all the hiking and touring in Petra and Wadi Rum so I rested in the hostel for most of the afternoon during my second day in Aqaba. There was one Chinese girl named Kiyan who has traveled for a long time. I chatted with her and Amira in Chinese for a while. I realized my Mandarin speaking skill is very poor since I haven’t spoken Chinese in a long time. Even though I’ve been learning more Chinese vocabularies using the Anki flashcard app, I’m still rusty when it comes to speaking. I might want to go to China in the near future to learn more Chinese, and maybe work there as an English tutor. I guess I’ll have to see about this plan.

I left Aqaba the next morning with another traveler who was going to the same place. We split the cost of the taxi ride to the Tala Bay Marina ferry terminal so I paid 5 JOD out of 10 JOD. Because I was departing Jordan by land, I paid the mandatory 10 JOD exit fee in cash at immigration. I had no more Jordanian Dinars left, which is the way I had planned. I try to spend all my cash when leaving a country.

This concludes my 13 days trip in The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. I had a great time there. I’ve heard that Jordan is the Switzerland of the Middle East in that the country tends to stay neutral and peaceful. It’s definitely true. And the people I’ve met have been so kind, both the locals and travelers. I got lucky that Jordan is the first Middle Eastern country I’ve visited and I had a great experience.

I heard two opposing things about Egypt. People either liked it a lot or hated it. The people who liked Egypt seemed to enjoy the cheaper cost of living and the people who hated it didn’t like the scammers and the corruption. I will decide for myself which camp I belong to.

Anyway, I’m currently in Dahab, Egypt. Not sure how long I will stay here. I applied for an eVisa beforehand and my maximum stay is 30 days.

On the way to Aqaba


<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A staff at the Hakaia Community hostel making Turkish coffee.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A semsemia, a music instrument that’s similar to a guitar

</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="text-align: center;">Fattoush salad</div>
</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kofta with tahini sauce</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharif Hussein bin Ali Mosque</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The common area of the hostel</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aqaba Fort</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the fort</td></tr></tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arab Revolt Flagpole</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aqaba Museum</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the museum</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arab Revolt Plaza</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the Al-Ghandour Beach</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Al-Ghandour Beach</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aqaba sign</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving Aqaba from the Tala Bay Marina</td></tr></tbody></table>