Crossing from Israel to Jordan on Allenby Bridge

Yesterday, the moment I dreaded finally happened. I left the Dan Panorama in Tel Aviv with 6 others, we drove to Jerusalem where we picked 10 more people then, our bus driver to us to the Israeli checkpoint you hit before the bridge and then on to the Israeli border crossing station. The station is where you pay the Israeli departure tax and get your departure stamp from Israeli customs in your passport. I found out you pay the departure tax at a currency exchange window which means they accept a lot of currencies in payment. It isn't critical you have Israeli shekels. After you pay the tax, the lady gives you a receipt and a small bar code stamp. Then, you get in line for Israeli customs who check your passport and make sure you paid the tax. Next up, you give the bar code stamp thing to another Israeli official who scans it in. Then, you're done with the Israeli side.

At the point, you would catch a bus shuttle to take you across the bridge. I don't know if there's a charge or not for the shuttle. In my case, Globus to my extreme delight had their Jordanian branch send a bus for us. I was so delighted to see that bus. The bridge itself was nothing to get excited about though it is historic in that the great British General Allenby who defeated the Turks in World War I around Megiddo had a bridge built there. You go over the bridge and, you're in Jordan. You drive to the Jordanian customs office where you have to get your passport checked by them. There isn't any entry fee to get into Jordan. I guess the passport is enough. Once you clear there, you're good to go. You can make your way to some Jordanian Dead Sea resorts and head for Petra like we did. Jordan is something with stark desolate lands and surprisingly nice people. I just wish I could a little Arabic. Not everyone speaks English here. Thankfully, my tour director speaks it superbly. Stay tuned for more posts.

Israeli ATMs

By all accounts, the place to get the best exchange rate in a foreign country is from an automatic teller machine (ATM). Thankfully, Israel doesn't lack for these though they do have some peculiarities that I thought I'd mention. First, I've found there will be usually 2 of the machines at the various banks. I don't know why they have 2 of them. Second, for some reason, my ATM card won't work in 1 of the machines. Thankfully, it always works in the other so if the first ATM you use doesn't work, try the second. Third, ATM fees in Israel are pretty reasonable. My first ATM withdrawal was for 200 shekels (approximately $50 U.S.) which cost me $1.42 U.S. Fourth, one drawback to the Israeli ATMs is the receipt you'll get back if you ask for one which I would recommend (makes it easier to keep track of your withdrawals). The receipt is entirely in Hebrew. Hebrew is a language that isn't remotely close to English. You can't remotely guess what the words mean and, it's written right to left vice left to right in English. This means you won't be able to figure out what your receipt says barring the amount you withdrew and the date/time of the transaction.

Overall, I'd recommend if you're traveling to Israel to use ATMs to get shekels vice foreign exchange service. The ATM fees are reasonable, ATMs are widely available in Israel as far as I know and, they offer very good exchange rates. Happy travels all!

Further Observations on Israel

These comments are various observations on things I've seen and experienced on my tour of Israel so far.

In the United States, you'll see lots of critters that are called squirrels. Israel's squirrels are cats apparently. They're every where. I've never seen so many. I suppose they are helpful in that they undoubtedly keep the rodent population down. Still, it is a trip to see so many.

Local country beers can be little better than piss water at times. One country I didn't expect to have a good beer was Israel. It isn't known for making a good brew. So, it was to my great surprise when I tried a large glass of Goldstar at the Kibbutz Lavi Hotel that it is a pretty good lager. I've had it 3 times now and, I wish I could get the stuff in the U.S. It is good beer.

For reasons I don't understand, Israelis won't serve meet with dairy products like cheese (fish is apparently not considered meat and is available in abundance) for breakfast. I've had 5 or 6 breakfasts in Israel and haven't seen hide or hair of a sausage or some bacon for breakfast. It made me wondered if they ate much meat here then, I had dinner at the Dan Carmel hotel in Haifa and, I found out Israelis do eat meat. There was chicken, stuffed eggplant and lamb. So, I guess there's something about breakfast.

In Jerusalem, they put on a great sound and light show at the Tower of David (hope that's the right place). It tells of the history of Jerusalem from David's time to modern times. I went to the show last night and, it was very good. I'd highly recommend it.

That's all for now. Happy travels all!

Tour Report on Israel

My tour of Israel continues. Yesterday, my tour group started in Galilee, visited the Shrine of the Beatitudes, the nine blessings Jesus preached of to people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. After that, we drove to the close by Church of Peter's Primacy where Jesus commanded Peter to feed his sheep. It was also the site of his feeding 5,000 miracle. Then, to the ruins of Capernaum and the church that is built over the ruins of Peter and Andrew's home. Supposedly, it is the only church with a glass floor. The Jordan River is very famous though to honest, it isn't a very impressive river. It isn't terribly wide or deep. Still, it is the river John the Baptist baptized Jesus in. We visited a site that specializes in baptisms and makes it easy to get to the river. Supposedly mega-churches have baptized huge groups of people there. I wasn't super wiped out with the place though I did touch the water and my friend Harvey took a small bottle of it to take home. Bet She'an was next with a very interesting visit to the former Roman city. The city was the third largest Roman city in its time (Jerusalem was 1st and Caesarea was 2nd). Our group walked down the main street in town which showed the superb Roman engineering. The Roman's built the street with sloping sides that sloped up to a row of stones in the center of road. This helped carry water away when it rained. The city also hold some neat mosaics including one of the Goddess Tyche, the goddess of luck in a prostitution house. One last thing of note about Bet She'an is the tel located right next to the ruins of the city. The tel is over 7,000 years old and may hold all kinds on interesting archaeological finds but, apparently lack of funds has prevented any excavation though there has been funding for excavating the Roman city. Every thing our group saw was uncovered in the last 2 decades.

Our final destination of the day was the holy city of Jerusalem. For me, it'll be something to say I've been there. I wish the city still had a Hard Rock Cafe so I could buy a t-shirt and brag about to folks back home. We stopped at a place on the Mount of Olives that overlooked the old city. The views were awesome. It was something to see the walls built by Suleiman the Magnificent, the Al Aqsa Mosque (from a distance) and other points of interest. My tour director Jacob pointed many places we would visit today during a walk through the old city.

After our photo op, Asher our driver drove us to our hotel the Leonardo Plaza. It's a very nice hotel in a good location. We'll spend a total of 5 nights here. Stay tuned for more updates on my Israel tour.

Enchantment of the Seas Re-positioning

I think I posted recently that I didn't know where Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas was going to go once Grandeur of the Seas took its place in Baltimore, Maryland in April 2013. This morning, I received an email from Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society (their frequent cruiser program). As luck would have it, they let people know what new cruises will be available on the Enchantment of the Seas. On April 13, 2013, Enchantment of the Seas will do a special 12 day cruise where it departs Baltimore and makes port at Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao and Labadee, Haiti. At the end of the cruise, it'll arrive at its new home port of Port Canaveral, Florida. Once it arrives there, it'll do 3 and 4 day cruises to the Bahamas. Presumably, later in the year, it'll receive its refit though I haven't seen any word on that yet. That's the latest (for what its worth) per Royal Caribbean on the Enchantment of the Seas (Source: Royal Caribbean website). Happy travels all!

New Ship in Baltimore in 2013

About 3 weeks ago, Royal Caribbean posted its 2013-2014 cruises for Baltimore, Maryland. The information that surprised me about the posting was the changing of the ship they home port in Baltimore. Currently, it's Enchantment of the Seas. This will change in April 2013 when another Vision Class ship the Grandeur of the Seas will take over their cruises out of Baltimore. At this time, I know nothing about this ship barring the fact it's the same class as Enchantment of the Seas. Presumably, once Grandeur of the Seas takes over, Enchantment of the Seas will be free to get a refit. Royal Caribbean was planning to refit the ship sometime in 2012 or 2013 (source their website). Nothing specific has been announced about that as far as I know. Currently, Royal Caribbean isn't showing any further cruises for Enchantment of the Seas on its website http://www.royalcaribbean.com once it finishes its last cruise out of Baltimore. At this time, Grandeur of the Seas is running cruises out of Venice, Italy. In November 2012, it'll cross the Atlantic Ocean en-route to the Caribbean where it'll offer cruises Caribbean cruises out of Colon, Panama (source: Royal Caribbean website) until it re-positions to Baltimore in April 2013.

Kibbutz

Yesterday, I got to find out what a kibbutz is. As of this post, I'm staying at the Kibbutz Lavi Hotel which is run by a kibbutz. Globus, the company I'm touring Israel and Jordan with, booked our group in this hotel so we could learn about kibbutz which is a uniquely Israeli institution. The hotel kindly had a member named Esther (last name unknown) who spoke very fine English to tell those in our group who were interested what kibbutz is and how it works. As I understand it, kibbutz in a nutshell is socialism at the village level. Every one contributes to the kibbutz financial well being through various jobs in the kibbutz. The kibbutz in turn provides for all its members basic needs such as food, clothing, medical, housing, utilities etc. All who take part in kibbutz in Israel are Jewish and Zionist. There a very few non Jewish members. The kibbutz that runs the hotel is a bit unique among kibbutz in that it is orthodox (more devout). Approximately, 20 out of over 250 kibbutz's are orthodox. According to Esther, the Jewish religion is very family oriented and, this makes kibbutz very attractive to Jewish (there are Arab) Israelis as a kibbutz is basically one very big (there are 190 families involved in the hotel's kibbutz) family. The kibbutz is very democratic. The kibbutz is run by various committees (there isn't 1 set leader) whose members are elected by the entire kibbutz membership. I think Esther said there are 32 different committees running the different aspects of their kibbutz. Some of the committees are surprising such as one that decides if a new committee is needed to cover a particular issue or if a present committee can handle the issue. Another handles relationships and can give money to a member so they can court a future wife or husband. In my opinion, the biggest advantage of a kibbutz is the security you have. You have a huge extended family who watches out for you and, it takes care of your basic needs at all stages of your life. A downside I can see is that you wouldn't make enough money to do some expensive things you might really enjoy such as travel in my case. According to my tour director Jacob, the kibbutz may be dying out in Israel. Esther confirmed that there haven't been any new kibbutz's created in quite a while. So, this uniquely Israeli institution may be slowly dying out. It was interesting to learn of it during my tour.

First Impressions of Israel

I arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport today for the first time. A Globus rep met my travel friend and I there and arranged to have a taxi take us to our hotel. I looked out the taxi window the whole time to see what Israel looked like. Some parts look fertile while others are dirty and graffiti laden. I was surprised by how many scooters there are in this country. Later this evening, I had dinner at a restaurant within the former Jaffa train station complex. It was neat. Outside the complex there was a good size parking lot AND at least 15 scooters. I've seen someone zipping by on one repeatedly. Price wise, the country isn't cheap. I had a large Tuborg draft beer at the hotel bar and, it cost over $7. I was surprised that the local brews Maccabee and Goldstar were just as expensive as the imported brands.

That's all of my first impressions for now. Tomorrow, I get to meet my tour director and the other members of my tour group. I'm curious how many there'll be. The tour as far as I know is fully booked. Also, plan to try out the  hotel swimming pool. It looks really nice. And, I need to find out where I can buy postage stamps to mail postcards back to the U.S. Stay tuned for more observations on Israel. Happy travels all!!!!!

Toronto Pearson International Airport

I made it to Toronto. I arrived at Toronto's Pearson International Airport around 3:45 p.m. My flight was on Air Canada Jazz. The plane was a Bombardier Dash 8-100. It was a nice little plane. Once I arrived in Toronto, I had a long walk to customs. Apparently, if you're changing flights internationally, you can't go from one flight to another. I arrived at gate F85 got to a point where you would descend down escalators to get to customs where I saw a different customs section if you were going to E gates. As I was going to gate E70, I was a bit confused by this. I got in the line for the E gate customs folks and, it turned out that was the way to go. I discovered one BIG plus to the airport. They offer free WiFi. I was delighted. Some airports charge for it which creates a bit of a hassle. Overall, Toronto's Pearson International Airport seems like a nice airport. Stay tuned for more travel posts. Tomorrow, I arrive in Tel Aviv, Israel. Happy travels all!

Sakura Japanese Steak and Seafood House

It's been at least 2 years since I last visited the Laurel Sakura Japanese Steak and Seafood House. It isn't that I don't like the restaurant. It's just that I'd been cutting back on eating out. With my travel friend Harvey coming up for our flights to Toronto, Canada, I recommended the restaurant as something good and different for dinner. The drive to the restaurant is easy enough. You take Maryland 295 to the Maryland 197 exit toward Laurel. You drive to Contee Road and turn left onto Contee Road. You got to the 3rd stoplight (where Route 1, Baltimore Washington Boulevard is) and turn left heading toward Washington D.C. The restaurant is on the left side of the road just before the Academy Ford car dealership.

The restaurant is one of those Japanese restaurants where the cook puts on a show while preparing the food. He juggles eggs with his spatula, makes a smoking volcano out of onion rings, cracks jokes and basically entertains the customers while preparing their respective orders. It makes for an amusing and more enjoyable dining experience.

The prices are very reasonable in my opinion. I had Teppanyaki steak and shrimp for $21.95. My unlimited sodas cost $2.15. A choice of 1 starter (chicken livers, sauteed mushrooms or 2 shrimps), a bowl of some kind of very good onion soup, a salad with an unidentifiable salad dressing, vegetables (broccoli, onions, carrots, squash, bean sprouts), and either white rice or fried rice come with the main entree. If you go to the Sakura website http://sakurasteakhouse.com/, you'll find coupons that could save you an additional 10%. Hours wise, the Laurel restaurant starts serving dinner at 4:30 p.m. I don't remember how late it stays open. Also, they have lunch hours. I don't know what those are.

Overall, I was very pleased with my dinner at this Sakura restaurant. The food was plentiful and tasty. The cook was very amusing and skilled. My waiter did a great job of keeping my glass filled with soda and was very prompt in serving my appetizer, soup and salad (depending on the rice you want, the cook may provide that i.e. fried rice). I would heartily recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes Japanese food. I definitely plan on going back myself. Bon Appetit all!

Adventure of the Seas 2013 Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean released the 2013 Caribbean cruises for its Adventure of the Seas ship. I remember this ship as it was the first cruise ship I ever sailed on. It's a Voyager class ship and, it is incredible. I remember checking out the ice skating rink on board which boggled my mind. It seemed unreal to be ice skating in the middle of the Caribbean. Another interesting feature of the ship is its Royal Promenade. It's effectively a mini-street inside the ship lined with shops, a pub, a pizza restaurant with a separate bar that sold Ben & Jerry's ice cream, the excursions desk and customer relations. It was really neat.

One itinerary that I would recommend to any readers I have out there is the one sailing from mid-December to early April. The itinerary sails to St. Croix, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados then returns to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I did this itinerary in the opposite order in November 2011. It was great. This itinerary allows you to see lots of islands and minimize your time on the boat. I don't know about others out there but, I don't go cruising to spend time on the boat. I go cruising because, I think it's the best way to see certain places and, it does have a mystique to it. Cruising in my opinion is the best way to see the Caribbean Islands and the Greek Islands. Also, it's a wonderful way to see some of Alaska. Concerning the mystique, I think it's hard to match the incredible views as you sail out of San Juan or Vancouver, Canada. I can't wait to watch when I sail out of Venice, Italy in November this year.

If you want a really good Caribbean cruise, the St. Croix to Barbados cruise is an excellent choice. For those who feel a week cruising isn't long enough, the Adventure of the Seas does on alternating weeks, the other cruise I did in November 2011 i.e. St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba and Curacao. While this itinerary isn't as good as the St. Croix to Barbados one in my opinion, it's still decent. While in St. Thomas, Royal Caribbean offers an excursion to St. John which I did and offers some gorgeous beaches including Trunk Bay which is rated as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. I got to see it in November and, it is stunning. If a week isn't long enough, you can do back-to-back cruises. I had a blast doing this and felt like Serenade of the Seas was my ship after 2 blessed weeks of sailing. I can't wait to do it again this time on Splendour of the Seas in November. Happy Travels All!

Steamed Salmon

I decided to try my Aroma Professional Rice Cooker/Food Steamer on some of the Alaskan salmon I caught last year during my 7 day Alaska cruise with Royal Caribbean. It's the easiest way I know of to cook salmon. You fill the pot pan of the cooker/steamer with enough water for steaming food, put the salmon fillet in the steam tray, close the top of the cooker/steamer (make sure you hear it click to ensure it's locked), you press the steam/cook button and then press it repeatedly till get you 15 for 15 minutes (minimum time to cook fish) and then, it cooks the salmon. The cooker/steamer will beep when it's finished cooking and automatically go into warm mode.

I decided to be on the safe side so I steamed cooked my salmon fillet for 20 minutes. It came out fine. It was neat to get eat some salmon that I caught myself. It brought back memories of my fishing trip out of Knudsen Cove which isn't far from Ketchikan, Alaska. The scenery was stunning and, it was the first time I'd ever tried fishing for salmon. Luck was with me and, I ended up catching a 20 pound King salmon. It was huge. When we got back to the pier, I got a picture taken of my catch and then, I turned it over to a local company that would fillet the fish and flash freeze it. After that, they held it until I was back in Maryland. Once I'd returned home, they shipped the well packed frozen salmon Federal Express so it arrived the next day. It arrived fine and, I promptly stuck the fillets in the freezer. A couple days ago, I decided to finally try some of my salmon. My Aroma cooker/steamer seemed the easiest way to prepare it and, it was. Now, I'll have to get a little more daring and try cooking my next fillet with some butter and herbs. We'll see on that. Bon Appetit all!

MyGlobus Website

I don't know if I've previously mentioned Globus's relatively new website where folks traveling with them can book optional excursions in advance. The website is: https://my.globusjourneys.com/. The service is like the service cruise ship lines offer. You can book and pay in advance various optional excursions that Globus will be offering on your tour with them. Example: on my tour (Journey Through The Holy Land With Jordan), Globus will be offering an excursion called Roman Race Show at the Dead Sea. I believe it's where you sit in a real Roman amphitheater and watch a Roman chariot race as well as fake gladiatorial combats. It should be pretty neat. The MyGlobus website enables me to pay for this excursion in advance so, I don't have a charge bill after I return from my tour. It can be nice in that way.

However, there are some drawbacks to Globus's program. For starters, you must book and pay for any excursions you want to take on this website by 10 days before your tour. Also, should you realize you need to cancel, you must cancel by 10 days before your tour. Otherwise, you won't get any of your money back. Lastly, should you decide while on tour you don't want to do the excursion, you can't cancel and get a refund. The only way you'll only get a refund at that time is if the excursion cancels for some reason.

Should you decide to pre-book on the MyGlobus website, Globus advises you to print a copy of your receipt. Your tour director should know what excursions you'll have paid for but, it doesn't hurt to have a copy proving you booked and paid for them. Also, not all excursions listed on the MyGlobus website may be able to be pre-booked. I had this happen with my tour. The website lists a tour called Little Petra but for unknown reasons, it wouldn't let me book it. Depending on availability, I may be able to book it during the tour.

If you decide you don't want to book excursions with the MyGlobus website, you'll still be able depending on availability to book excursions with the tour director during the tour. There are 2 real advantages to booking on the website. First, you're able to pay in advance for more of things you'll do on the trip so you avoid having to carry the cash to pay for them or a nasty charge card bill when you get home. Second, you are guaranteed a place on the excursion. I don't remember any excursions I've been on with Globus that have sold out but, it doesn't hurt to have your name on the list. However, you should be certain that you want to do the excursion. If you're in doubt, I'd recommend you hold off till you're on your tour. That way, you won't lose any money if you decide you don't want to do the excursion. Happy Travels All!

Hard Rock Cafe's All Access to End

If you haven't heard, Hard Rock Cafe has decided to end it's All Access Membership. Members of their All Access program have until September 30, 2012 to use any rewards they've earned with the program. After that, any remaining rewards will be lost. Per an email I received from Hard Rock Cafe and their website http://www.hardrock.com/, Hard Rock Cafe plans to come out an unnamed new loyalty program some time in the future. Existing members of the All Access program with be given the VIP tier for the first year. The email I received didn't explain what that was. Presumably, I'll find out when they announce the new loyalty program and how it works.

I'm saddened to see Hard Rock Cafe get rid of it's All Access program. I think it's a nice program and, I enjoyed earning rewards with it. Some times I ate at their restaurants just so I could add to my reward total. Also, I liked getting the 10% discount at non-corporate restaurants. This saved me some money at various overseas (non-U.S.) restaurants. Lastly, the priority seating was nice. I'm curious to see what new program Hard Rock Cafe comes up with. We'll see.

Provence A to Z

One author I've very much enjoyed is Peter Mayle. I remember reading his first big hit book wise, A Year in Provence and, I've been a fan of his ever since. The latest book of his that I've been enjoying for months is called Provence A to Z. Unlike other books Mayle has put out, this book isn't a novel. It's a collection of a number of short stories Mayle has written on Provence about all sorts of topics ranging from the Chateau D'If and how it came about to olive oil and Provencal language. The stories are at times funny and sometimes informative. I learned from his short story on olive oil how they determine if it's extra virgin grade, fine virgin grade or just virgin olive oil. The stories continue to highlight some of the characters in Provence such as the security expert Jacky who told Mayle of some of the enterprising thieves in Provence. Provence has a number of summer homes which for most of the year are vacant which makes them very easy prey for thieves. Mayle tells how enterprising thieves have stolen entire kitchens, iron gates and even olive trees! On the humorous side, Mayle tells of a man who is caught poaching another man's truffles. The poacher had his wife along and agrees to leave her as hostage until he returns with money to pay the man who's truffles he'd been poaching. In a twist, the poacher never returns to claim his (we suspect) very pissed off wife.

Overall, the book is a delight to read. Mayle clearly loves Provence and, it shows in his wonderful stories. The book also has some nice illustrations that nicely complement the various stories. I would heartily recommend this book to any who like France and in particular Provence. It's a delightful read. Happy reading all!

Globus Travel Documents

I received my Globus travel documents this Monday. The documents are very important as they tell me exactly what Globus will provide during the tour. They list what meals, excursions and hotels are included in the tour price. They are a legal document that Globus is bound to honor. If a particular item isn't in the documents, Globus doesn't have to provide it. That is why it is very important to review the documents for any errors. If you find any, you need to contact the person or agency you booked the tour with immediately to get the error corrected. In my case, I pre-paid for 3 optional excursions on the tour. I saw the documents didn't show this. I contacted my travel agent and, he told me to print a copy of the excursion receipt so I can show the Globus tour director that I did pay for the excursions and if they're cancelled, I'll be due a refund. The documents are important too in that they tell you where you'll be on a certain date. This is important in case anyone needs to reach you. If you send them a copy of the documents, they'll know what hotel you'll be staying at so they can reach you there. Lastly, the documents show what airport transfers and an extra nights you may have booked. The transfers are important because they tell you if someone from Globus will be there to meet you or if you're on your own to get to your hotel. The extra nights are important as these are vouchers that you'll give to your hotel so Globus will pay them. Also, it confirms your extra hotel reservations. I'll be staying an extra night in Tel Aviv, Israel at the beginning of the tour so I can recover from the long travel time. I'll be traveling around 23 hours from the time I arrive at Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWIA) to catch my connection to Toronto, Canada and fly on to Tel Aviv. I haven't forgotten the time I fly from BWIA to Newark International and on to Copenhagen. I had to try to stay up the whole day till 4:30 in the afternoon when we had our first tour meeting. By the time the meeting happened, I was dead beat tired and actually fell asleep repeatedly during the meeting. Because of this, when I did my tour/river cruise of Egypt, I went a day early and, it worked out really well. When the tour kicked off in Egypt, I was well rested and ready to start seeing the wonders of the country. It should be the same with my trip to Israel and Jordan. If you're going to be traveling a long time to go on a Globus tour, I'd strongly recommend you book an extra pre-tour night so, you'll be in good shape when the tour kicks off. That way, you won't miss anything at the first group meeting. Cheers all.

Jordanian Single Visit Visa

Yesterday, to my delight, I received my passport back from the Washington D.C. Jordanian consulate. Inside was my new single visit visa. Mega kudos to the consulate for processing my visa application so quickly. I was anxious to get my passport back. I've paid over $5,000 for my upcoming trip to Israel and Jordan. If I don't have my passport, I'm not going any where. The visa itself is a combination of a 2 different stamp impressions and 2 stickers. One stamp impression tells what kind of visa it is, the date it becomes active and the date the visa is good till. The other stamp impression shows where the visa was processed, in my case, the consular section in Washington. One of the two stamps says foreign revenue while the other is in arabic so I don't know what it says. According to my travel agent, I can stay in Jordan past the visa expiration date. This is a good thing as it would've been tricky trying to get a single visit visa that would've covered the time I'll be in Jordan and get my passport back before I fly to Israel. As it is, I won't be staying long past the expiration. I leave just a little over 1 day past its expiration date. In regards to Jordan itself, I hope the country proves to be worth the hassle of getting the visa. I have no idea what it'll be like. The only reason I'll be touring it is because it was in the area of Israel and, 9 days of touring Israel wasn't long enough. I'm used to taking 12 to 14 days tours with Globus. We'll see how the trip goes.

Correction: The visa for Egypt that I paid for at Cairo International was a large sticker, not a stamp impression. As I understand it, you can do the same process at Jordan's Amman International Airport.

Jordanian Consulate

Today, I applied to get a Jordanian visa at the Jordanian consulate in Washington D.C. I rode my TMAX motorbike down to D.C., managed to find a parking spot just past the Ethiopian embassy and walked over to the Jordanian embassy. I walked through the main door and said nervously "visa." The security person directed me to a small room and side door that was to the right of the main door entrance. I had everything I needed - my passport, the filled out visa application with photo attached, a money order for $37.50 which I made out to Embassy of Jordan and an express mail envelope with attached postage and mailing addresses. The lady at the window of the consulate had me fill in my address and the embassy address on the money order. Also, she made sure I had the right mailing addresses. Once every thing met her approval, she took all the stuff and told me 5 business days which means May 8th is when my visa should be approved by. If they mail it on the 8th, it should reach me on the 9th. That's a little close to me as I fly out a little more than a week later. Still, this was easier than using a visa service and paying nearly 3 times as much. I'll be curious to see what the visa look like. The Australian visa I got was a massive sticker that took a whole page in my passport. The Egyptian visa I got when I arrived in Cairo was a ink stamp thing as I remember. We'll see what this one is like. Stay tuned.