Procedures at Terminal 2 Amman International Airport

I thought I'd post what you can expect at Amman International Airport's Terminal 2. Things are different there from what I was used to in the United States.

First, you pass through your first security screen upon entering the airport unlike U.S. airports where you would check-in at your appropriate airline.

Second, you then check-in with your appropriate airline. In my case, it was with the German airline Lufthansa who code shares with Air Canada, the the airline I was flying.

Third, after checking in, you go through Jordanian customs. Here, you'll get your passport stamped and, they'll make sure you have a boarding pass.

Fourth, you take an escalator up to the top floor where you'll find the Duty Free shop, restaurants (KFC, Pizza Hut, etc) and news stands. This is the main waiting area for your flight. They won't allow you to the gate till your within an hour or so of your flight. Also, there isn't any shops by the gates so, you better get any drink, food or paper here before passing through the 2nd security screening.

Fifth, to my surprise, there is a 2nd security screening. I guess the Jordanian officials really want to make sure you're not carrying anything nasty so they check you twice. After you pass through, you can walk to your appropriate gate where there is a small waiting area and access to bathrooms. There isn't anything else. There are electronic signs at this screening that will tell you the status of the flights in the gates it covers. Mine covered gates 10, 11 and 12.

Sixth, an airline employee will announce at your gate when they'll start boarding and who gets to go first usually First Class and Business Class passengers as well as those belonging to their frequent flier program. When boarding commences, you'll show your boarding pass and passport and board your flight.

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.

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.

Washington D.C. Jordanian Embassy

I drove down to Washington D.C. today to find the Jordanian embassy. Once I get within a month of the Globus tour I'll be taking to Israel and Jordan, I plan to visit the embassy so I can buy a 1 entry visa. Visiting the embassy will save me half of what it would cost me to use a professional service to get the visa plus, I'll be able to keep my passport in my possession barring when I have to turn it over to Jordanian embassy officials.

For those who haven't been to Jordan's Washington D.C. embassy, it isn't that hard to get to barring driving through Washington D.C. From the Capital Beltway (495), you take exit 33 to Connecticut Avenue. You head toward Washington D.C. on Connecticut Avenue. You'll go through 1 roundabout where you take the 4th exit which keeps you on Connecticut Avenue. You'll take a right on Van Ness St NW. You go a maximum of half a block and turn left on to International Drive NW. The Jordanian embassy is located at 3504 International Drive NW.

I wasn't able to determine how the parking was around the embassy. I plan to ride my TMAX motorbike so hopefully, it won't be a problem. For those who might be concerned about being able to park their car, an alternative plan is to take the Washington D.C. Metro (subway) system to the Van Ness stop and walk to the embassy.

According to the embassy's webpage (http://www.jordanembassyus.org/new/index.shtml), the consular office is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It's the embassy's consular office that handles visas. The form U.S. citizens need to fill out to get a visa can be found on their website. You'll take the form along with a money order for $37 (for 1 entry visa, multiple entry visas are higher) and a passport photo. Also, you'll need to take an pre-address Express Mail envelope that the embassy will mail you back your passport with your visa inside. The embassy website states that it can take up to 5 business days for a visa to be approved. Single entry visas can only be approved within 1 month of travel to Jordan.

Israel Trip Update

All looked good to go for my May trip to Israel and Jordan until the beginning of this week. That's why I found out I need a visa to get into Jordan. Like Egypt, Jordan makes it really easy to get a tourist visa. You arrive at the Amman Airport, pay $20 (I believe) and, you get your single entry visa. However, that's where Globus mucked things up. Israel and Jordan were involved what I believe was the 6 Day War where Jordan lost the West Bank. Jordan apparently maintains that the West Bank still belongs to them. There is a crossing from Israel to Jordan called the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge. As far as I was able to learn, at all other entry points into Jordan, you can buy a visa to enter Jordan. The exception is the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge because of the West Bank issue. As luck would have it, that is the entry point that Globus uses for my Jordan tour extension. :-( Why they have to enter Jordan there, I don't know. But, I do know I was very miffed when I found out. However, I am glad I found out NOW vice going to Israel, doing the tour, leaving to go to Jordan and finding out I couldn't get a visa to enter the country. Then, Jordan's visa rules made things more complicated. You can get an on-line visa with Jordan HOWEVER, you can't get that until you're within 30 days of your trip to Jordan. Sorry, I'm not going to wait till 30 days or less to get my visa. I want it now in my hands so I know there isn't going to be a problem getting in when I leave in May. This tour costs too much (over $6,000!) to take any chances on last minute screw ups. The alternative is to get a 6 month multiple entry visa which costs $97! OUCH!!!!! Keep in mind, that doesn't include the cost of using a visa service to get the thing unless I want to travel to Washington D.C. and visit the Jordanian embassy myself (not thrilled with that idea). So, I'm looking into cancelling my May trip to Israel and Jordan. As luck would have it, I'd discussed future travel plans for next year around the same months and, my friend Harvey and I had agreed that he would do his Russia tour (no thanks) and, I would do my Bermuda and Boston (no thanks on Harvey's part) Royal Caribbean cruise. We'll just move these up a year. This has the added advantage for me in that I'll go Emerald with Royal Caribbean's frequent cruiser program (Crown & Anchor Society) and, I'll go Diamond in November with the back-to-back Greek Islands cruises. Also, I'd like to visit my Dad after the May cruise. I vowed I would try to make it home more often after the unexpected death of my step-mom Kay. I still haven't forgotten that. We'll see what works out. Stay tuned.