Flight to Doha and Amman Day 1 & 2 2012 – Souq Waqif & Amman City

Blogging retrospectively, a trip that happened 2 years ago before writing this post. Much has been lost in the sands of time.

Our long trip for the year to the exotic (at least in my opinion, from tiny Singapore) destination of Qatar (stopover), Jordan and Israel began with a Friday flight on Qatar airways, our first time on this 5 star airlines, partly because it had the nicest schedule with a price of about SGK1.4K.

Got into Doha around midnight and had to pay for the tourist Visa (about SGD 30) before getting a taxi into the city. It was pretty dark all around the hotel, nothing much around except for a gas station nearby. Checked in Ramada Encore, rested for the night.

Twin beds.
Twin beds.
Good enough space for a stopover night.
Good enough space for a stopover night.
Nicely tiled bathroom.
Nicely tiled bathroom.
Bathtub too.
Bathtub too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doha Day 2

Woke up early for hoping to see a little of Doha before flying to Amman. Arranged for a taxi that sent us to the most popular souq in Doha, Souq Waqif, couple of minutes away. This was a mega marketplace where so many things were sold.

Waqif Souk.
Waqif Souk.
Corridors of stores selling clothes.
Corridors of stores selling clothes.

Came to a corridor where there were some pets stores, selling really interesting pets.

This store sells pets
This store sells pets from ordinary pets like rabbits…
Tortoise.
Tortoises..
Coloured birds?
To coloured birds?
Squirrels?
Squirrels?

Settled for some breakfast at a fast food joint.

Restaurants and cafes.
Restaurants and cafes.
Baskin Robbins
Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins can be found.

Had some food at Zaatar W Zeit, a nicely modern design restaurant.

Modern design.
Modern design.
Had this for lunch, similar to a wrap.
Had this for lunch, similar to a wrap.

Visited a shop that sold sweet stuff, made up of nuts. We bought a plastic container of it, thinking that we could be eating this when we arrive in Jordan.

Sweet stuff.
Sweet stuff.

From the carpark of the souq, we could see an interesting architecture of the Islamic Cultural Center. Kinda hazy though.

Islamic Cultural Center.
Islamic Cultural Center.

There weren’t much time left, we decided to walk close to the shore. Temperatures were high, maybe higher than in Singapore. Thought we could see the ultra modern architecture often seen on TV of the Qatari skyline but didn’t. Probably on the wrong side of town.

 

Museum of Islamic Art.
Museum of Islamic Art – another interesting looking building.

Got into a taxi after giving up in walking and went back to the hotel. Checked out and boarded our next flight to Amman.

Arrived in the late afternoon and was received by the airport transfer that was pre-arranged by the Jordan Tower Hotel for 25 Jordanian Dinars (almost SGD50). Booked this location as it was smacked right in the city and the tripadvisor reviews for this hotel was good. Furthermore, the price was pretty affordable too. Journey from the airport to the city was about an hour, not including the jam was got pretty bad towards the city.

Twin beds in a small room.
Twin beds in a small room.
Basic toilet.
Basic toilet.

After checking in, we got to book tour with the reception for a day trip to the dessert castles and also to the city of Jerash for the whole of next day. After that, it was getting late and thus we just took a stroll along the busy streets, bustling with activities.

Busy streets with an Audi police car.
Busy streets with an Audi police car.
Mosque in Amman city.
Mosque in Amman city.
Tea that was purchased from a drinks store near the hotel. Pretty popular here.
Tea that was purchased from a drinks store near the hotel. Pretty popular here.

Got hungry early, we popped into one of the local restaurants for dinner, on the 2nd floor of one of the buildings along the street. Took the balcony for a dinner with a view. Food was tasty.

What a spread
What a spread
Naan.
Naan.
Tea again.
Tea again.
View of the vehicle packed streets.
View of the vehicle packed streets.

After dinner, continued to roam around the streets before heading back.

Streets seemed to be busy all the time.
Streets seemed to be busy all the time.
Gold market? not unexpected.
Gold market? not unexpected.

Back in the room, we were unable to rest because of the incessant car horns from the streets below, up till as late as 12 midnight. There was simply no sound proofing at all. Prayers that were broadcasted could also be heard at different time of the day. We decided we weren’t staying another night.

Escape plan to Doha, Jordan and Israel April 2012

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Doha, Jordan and Israel 2012:

Total duration 16D17N
Singapore is 5hrs ahead of Doha,Jordan and Israel.
Flight time is 7,5hrs direct flight on Qatar Airways from Singapore to Doha.
Night flight on 20th April and arrival in Doha at just after midnight..
Return flight is a slightly more than 2.5hrs direct flight on Qatar Airlines from Amman to Doha, a transit of 5.5hrs and another 8hrs flight back to Singapore. Return journey started on a Saturday afternoon and touching down in Singapore on Sunday mid-day.

Day 1 and 2 Flight to Doha and Amman – Souq Waqif & Amman City
Day 3 – Dessert Castles, Jerash and Aljoun Castle
Day 4 – Citadel, Madaba and Mt. Nebo
Day 5 – Memorial of Moses, Bethany beyond the Jordan and the Dead Sea
Day 6 – Kerak Castle, Shobak Castle and Petra
Day 7 – Petra all day
Day 8 – Wadi Rum, Rivage outlet and back to Madaba
Day 9 – Jordan crossing to Israel and Tiberias
Day 10 – Golan Heights, Nazareth and Church of Annunciation
Day 11 – City of Acre, Bahai Gardens, Druze village, Caesarea and Jaffa
Day 12 – Jerusalem
Day 13 – Yad Vashem museum, Mount of Olives, Shrine of the Book, Malcha Mall
Day 14 – Bethleham in the Palestinian Authority and Masada Fortress
Day 15, 16 and 17 – Crossing back to Amman and Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was planned as our long trip for the year. We chose this trip because we wanted to see one of the wonder of the world, Petra in Jordan and also to hop over to Israel for a visit (though we aren’t the religious sort).

Budget nature: Budget buster.

This trip took some time for saving up as the Singapore dollars are smaller than the currencies of the Jordanian Dinar and although it is bigger than the Israeli New Sheqel and the Qatari Rial, the expenses there are expensive too. Petrol prices in Jordan are cheaper than Singapore but not in Israel. Accommodation have been chosen for the affordability and thus not luxurious. Food prices are higher than Singapore but still affordable. Entrance fees and transportation to attractions are also contributing the the costs.

Complexity: Driving a car is required to move around Jordan and Israel.

These two countries are huge and a car to move around is the most ideal. We did not take any of the public transportation during our time except in Doha where it was just a stopover for us and taxi is the easy way around and in Amman, where driving in the city is too challenging.

With a GPS on hand, navigation is a breeze. Speedtraps in Jordan were especially common and thus one has to be careful not to get caught or risk a fine on the spot.