Reaching Amman

Two weeks ago, I packed my bags to go to Amman, Jordan to attend a conference, hosted jointly by UNICEF and MobileActive.org, on mobile technology and its usage in social development. I was very excited about it since I had never been to that part of the world, even though I had heard a lot about it. Though, it didn’t start without any hiccup. I was supposed to leave on Sunday, and on Wednesday I received a call from Jordan Embassy in Washington DC that my visa is approved and I should go to embassy to get it stamped. I was in NYC at that time, so had to change my flights and rush to DC to get the visa. Fortunately, I reached in time, and I got the visa. Sunday, I took the flight to Amman, Jordan via Istanbul, Turkey on Turkish Airlines. Flight was quite uneventful but when I reached Ataturk airport in Istanbul, I was pleasantly surprised to see the modern and comfortable airport.

When the plane started to descend in Amman, it was evening and cloudy so I couldn’t see the skyline of the city. The plane went through the clouds, and as soon as things became visible, we touched the runway. I was surprised to find that clouds were so low in Amman. It kept me thinking all the while until I started talking to the cab driver on my way to the hotel. He told me that Amman is situated on 6 hills, and then I understood why clouds were so low. Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport is a small but decent airport. Though, I noticed that even though the air-bridges were empty our aircraft didn’t get any, and we had to get into a bus to get into the terminal. This reminded me of the Bangalore's International Airport, where same thing happens. The cab driver was quite a talkative person and he told me lot of things about Jordan including countries around it and how far the borders are. When he told me that Dead Sea is just 45 min drive, I couldn’t believe it, as I wanted to visit it quite desperately, and here I was so near to it, and I didn’t know about it at all. I was very surprised to realize that it is the first time that I was coming to new country without checking what all is around it and what are the visitors attractions, wondering what’s up with me …