With intricate golden fixtures, beautifully lush red carpet, and exceptionally professional staff, you could be forgiven for forgetting the "Days Inn" was bombed by terrorists in 2005. The staff are so eagre to be of help, they would offer the shirt off their back if required - and for 5 Dinars probably their shoes as well. The Hotel manager Rabi Ali assures that the metal detectors and armed gaurds are simply a deterrent against suicide bombings. Because of this, the detector does not actually detect metal at all and simply flashes from time to time while making random beeping noises.
Yes I am actually in one of the hotels that was bombed and I sat in the restaurant where a tourist was killed. And the metal detector does actually work. And the armed gaurd in actually a small Amman woman with a badge on her shoulder who seemed to be falling to sleep beacause when we walked through the detector and the lights went red, she didn't even stop us. Anyway, other than that Amman is fantastic, and everyone is so unbelievably friendly that none of the middle east stuff makes any sense. I teamed up with a person in the hotel here and we hit the streets of Amman. We were offered heaps of free food all day (sweets, strange cheeses, and meat). We stopped in a restaurant and ate menfer which is their specialty dish and lamb kababs which isn't their specialty dish. We talked to the locals and met some really cool Ammanians and swapped emails. Funny though, most have taught themselves English by watching Americam movies. Anyway, it's been great here so far, with Petra still to come, it can only get better.
Anyways, I'll keep you posted
