The last 2 days of the exotic tour were spent making our way back to Singapore. We drove to Allenby’s bridge (King Hussein on the Jordan side) and dropped the car off before heading through the immigrations. Crossing back to Jordan felt easier compared to we made our way over to Israel. However, the whole sequence was the same, with the minibuses ferrying passengers between the immigration counters. Once we crossed over, we got onto a taxi that brought us to the last accommodation, Larsa hotel.
Larsa Hotel room.Large enough for a table.Simple toilet.Comes with bathroom accessories.Lobby of the hotel.
We catered some time for the crossing but managed to do it earlier than expected, probably because we tried to do so as early as the counters were opened. Took the afternoon off for shopping in Amman in City Mall and had lunch.
City MallMacD in Jordan.
At night we visited yet another mall, Mecca mall and had dinner before packing for the long flight home.
Wraps.Pasta.Fruit cup.Mecca mall.
From Larsa hotel, we arranged for a taxi to take us to the airport. Then it was about getting to Doha first then transit back to Singapore, arriving in the afternoon.
View of Amman airport.
Quick snack before the flight to Doha.Waiting for the connecting flight.Another meal before the after midnight flight before arriving home.
This trip was one of my favorite as we were visited the “exotic” places where Jordan and Israel had to offer. The Petra as one of the new wonder of the world left us in awe, the amusing experience with the Dead Sea and the salty mud, the feeling of tension through thousands of years of religious conflict in Jerusalem, the eye opening experience in the visit to Bethlehem in terms of religious history and current isolation and others. Glad I had this checked off my bucket list.
It was the end of the Jordan leg of the trip and onto a new country that would be equally exciting. This country being a birth center of 3 major religions and its modern day political controversies definitely had us both excited and concerned, as we weren’t sure if it was really safe to go on our own during planning.
At the Israeli side, we had wanted to avoid a passport stamp as there could be issues travelling to other countries in future, especially for some whom still do not recognise Israel as a state officially. So we asked if the officer could stamp on a separate form (known as a 17L sheet) but was asked the reasons. We said we wanted to visit Malaysia but he informed that it was ok for Malaysia as they were friends. We couldn’t convince the officer and so ended up with a stamp in our passport. Thereafter it was a getting a short taxi drive out to the main gate as it was not accessible for our rental vehicle.
After dropping off, called Green Peace car rental rep who arrived not too long after. Taking over the car, I started my GPS and we were on our way to our first city of Tiberias, right next to the Sea of Galilee. We first checked in at Berger hotel which was not too far away from the town center.
Immigrations at Jordan side.Bed.Small simple room.Comes with a tub.
Next priority was to exchange currency as there weren’t any at the borders. By the time we arrived at Tiberias, it was late afternoon and there weren’t any forex around and so I had to changed some at one of the bigger hotel’s reception (ours didn’t have either). For lunch, we had MacD, after which we took a short stroll at the port side town before leaving for the attractions.
Israeli Macs.Port at Tiberias, serving the Galilee sea.Tiberias town in the afternoon.
First stop for us was the Church of Primacy of St. Peter at Tabgha, a town real close to Tiberias, after negotiating the small windy roads. This little church was just beside the water which made it picturesque. Within was a rock table that was once used by Jesus while having a meal with the Apostles (or to that effect, am not a Christian). There were tour guides bringing their guests who were most likely on a pilgrimage tour to the site, and while they told the tales, we listen to some and left for the next location, another more famous site.
Within the Church of the Primacy of St Peter.On the outside.
On arrival to the Church of Multiplication, we were disappointed to find the gates closed. We had probably there during the closing hours. The significance of Jesus feeding thousands by multiplication of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes was represented by this church. Couldn’t see more, we snapped a photo of the stone by the entrance with what looked like chalk drawings of the fishes and bread and left.
Near the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes.
We knew we were running late already and as we drove around in search of “Mount of Beatitudes“, not knowing how it looked like. Stopped at a church and snapped the nice view of the surroundings.
Roman Catholic chapel at Mount of BeatitudesView of the Galilee from the Mount, overlooking the plain of Gennesaret.
Went back to the hotel for a rest before heading back to the town for dinner. There were many food stalls around the area, something like a pasar malam, but not as crowded or squeezy. Had our nutella pancakes for dinner. At night, what was quiet in the afternoon became an area of lights and food and games and people enjoying the night walking about.
Having nutella pancakes.Tiberias by night.
We walked to the end of the Yigal Alon promenade to see the water and light show at the Tiberium, which had a few scheduled timings. Had to be there earlier as many people turned up for the show. Went back to the hotel for a much deserved rest after such a long day.
