Sunday
25th October
Dubai
We
decided on another leisurely start to the day as we had a late flight
tonight to Dubai. We headed into the downtown area of Jordan past the
Citadel, which was the original Roman fortification of Amman. A
bit of a let down after seeing Jerash yesterday so we didn't stay
long and worked our way down from the hill to the Roman Theatre,
which again, whilst individually quite impressive, didn't rate
compared to yesterday. It was fun to walk the downtown area with
it's bustling markets and friendly faces. Had lunch in a hole in the
wall cafe that was a huge disappointment – you have to get it wrong
sometimes.
Today
was said goodbye to Jordan. It has definitely been one of the
highlights of the trip. It's not a luxurious destination but the
remarkably preserved history and the genuine friendliness of the
people certainly makes up for it. As we walked the streets people
would call out “where you from”? When we answered Australia,
their faces would light up and the universal response was”Welcome”.
At
5:30pm we headed off to the airport and we have to say we love Royal
Jordanian. As we were travelling Business Class, we were delivered
to the private check in where you sit at a lounge and they deal with
all the paper work for you (including a very perfunctory immigration
check).. Then to the lounge before being escorted onto our very
lovely flight to Dubai.
Arrival
in Dubai after Jordan really lets you see what oil money can do.
First impressions are of a giant Disneyland for big people. On the
taxi ride to the Atlantis Hotel, we were like a little kids peering
out the window at the remarkable sky scrapers and neon lights. We
traversed the 12 lane highway to the Atlantis in record time (mind
you it was 1:30am in the morning).
What
can we say about the Atlantis ... colourful, over the top, absolute
luxury, a complete fantasy land, so gaudy, so us - we love it!
You
have to remember that for the last week we have been in monastic
separate beds (evidently there are no double beds to be found at all
in Jordan) so when we entered our suite and couldn't even see the bed
because the hall way was so long we knew we were going to enjoy this
place. Our suite is stunning (again the travel gods were looking
down on us as we were upgraded on check in). Huge king bed with
giant fluffy pillows and room to party in.
We
were too excited to sleep so we took the opportunity to explore the
hotel whilst most of the guests were asleep. The most incredible
feature
was the giant aquarium. Giant is actually an understatement-it is
remarkable. It contains all manor of sea life from small fish to
sharks and stingrays right up to the giant whale shark. Fabulous.
