After a couple of weeks break in India that included a trip to Delhi, Anjali and I set off on our much anticipated trip to Jordan without the kids. It was our longest time away from the kids (last December we escaped to Bangkok for a couple of nights). So thankful to our parents for taking care of Ayaan and Ariana for 5 nights! Jordan is the 50th country that I have visited which is a personal milestone I’ve been awaiting. I’m enamoured with Middle Eastern Arabic countries with the culture, architecture, food and shisha having been to a few including Egypt, Zanzibar, Turkey, Dubai etc. The fact that Jordan is my 50th is just ideal.

After a movie-filled flight through Muscat, we landed in Amman around midnight. Immigration was seamless and since we traveled without kids we had no checked bags! 45 mins after landing we arrived at the W Amman, a swanking new property. Anjali wasn’t too well that night and we both were exhausted so we passed out in our amazing suite overlooking the city of Amman. We had 1 day in Amman and decided to head out to Jerash to spend the late morning after a sumptuous breakfast. Jerash is about 45 mins away from Amman and is home to the magnificent Roman site, only second to what you find in Rome itself. After a few failed uber/taxi attempts we negotiated a taxi ride to Jerash and back for 40 JOD. Anjali was quite frustrated with all the lame attempts by taxi drivers to fleece you, but we were too seasoned to get caught by them. Jerash was incredible from the moment we entered through the grand gates and wasn’t too crowded. Traditionally Roman architecture with rows of columns, the Temple of Artemis and amazing views of the surrounding hilly town. We spent a couple of hours in Jerash, but my favorite part was the 35 min live Gladiator show with a demonstration of the Roman army, gladiators fighting and chariot racing. It was heavily attended by Americans and took me right back to one of my favorite movies of all time. After Jerash, we got dropped off at Jabbal Amman where we ate at some of the most famous local joints including Hashem with its mouth-watering Hummus and crisp Falafel followed by Habibah that served a local desert that was basically a baklava with cheese! We ended our sightseeing with a quick trip to the Citadel that had awe-inspiring views of the crowded single-stone hills of houses in Amman. We decided to spend the rest of the evening at the W dipping in the pool and hot tub, smoking shisha at the terrace watching the sunset over Amman, and drinking cocktails at the W bar – things we couldn’t do with the kids. Both of us were quite amused by how much we could achieve in a travel day without kids.

Our second morning kicked off with another great breakfast, followed by a pickup of our rental car at a nearby SixT. A lot of friends recommended that we take a driver, but we preferred driving on our own to get some privacy and explore at our own pace. Also I love driving and after driving in more than 20 countries (and especially Western Ireland) am fairly comfortable. We drove for 3 hours through the desert landscape to the highlight, Petra. One thing to note is that the toilets in Jordan are disgusting (or ‘gustin as Ayaan says it). After our first day, we were wiser and carried our own toilet paper and soap, something that was non-existent is most toilets. We reached the historical site of Petra and found parking very easily right by the entrance. We had a quick average meal, before entering the grand site. Petra is my 6th wonder of the world and Anjali’s 5th, Machu Pichu remains elusive. We bought a 2 day pass for 55 JOD each fearing we may not be able to cover enough in the 5 hours we had that afternoon (It was more than sufficient to see everything we wanted to see in Petra). Petra or the red rose city is absolutely breathtaking and worth the travel to get here. It’s the most incredible wonder civilized in 1st century BC and carved out entirely from the natural, unique red Stone Mountain. As we walked through the 1.2 km Siq, we were reminded of Zion and Bryce. At the other end of the narrow gorge, is the absolutely stunning and famous Treasury – a huge building carved out. We explored the Urn tomb and the theatre, before climbing up to the Monastery – a steep climb but very worth it to get away from the crowds and get some spectacular views of the valley. Petra has many hawkers and is quite crowded as you would expect, but once it cleared out around 430pm (it closes as 6pm), is it charming. Our favorite was the 360 views from the temples of the Winged Lion and Byzantine Church. What was incredible about Petra is that we were more in love with it as we walked back out, which is usually the opposite at the end of 5 hours when you are jaded and tired. We were exhausted after hiking for 5 hours but luckily the weather is amazing in October. We retreated to our home for the night at the Marriott in Petra – an amazing location overlooking Petra and the sunset over it. We had a quick dinner and ended the night relaxing in the local Bedouin tent, smoking shisha, listening to live Bedouin music and sipping the local tea while staring at the stars. Petra was all that and more. 3 more days of exploring Jordan with #nokids …