We wake early but feeling refreshed and relaxed albeit I have serious indigestion and we did not even eat the love heart wedding anniversary cake that the hotel made us. Whilst Becky headed of for a treat at the spa (a facial for the road), I prepared Bruce the Jeep and trailer for the next leg. I was made up with the hotel and how supportive they were to a couple of overland in a dusty Jeep and trailer. Even as we left they handed us more water and tissues.
We took the opportunity to see if we could grab some (LPG) gas. We have a little bottle, but no gauge to say exactly how much we have.
I give it a shake and there seems plenty but we still have a week plus to go. Checking iOverland I see that there is a gas supplier on the way which are heading. We find the place which happens to be a multi supplier gas compounds. It looks like a makeshift place and as I enter I am greeted and with waves and hellos. One chap comes over to me and it is sadly obvious that is has worked with gas for a while and felt the wrong end of hot gas as he shows by a lack of eye brows and aged scars on his head, he asks what I need? I get to witness him filling four bottles up simultaneously in a wooden lean too and each being in various states of repair, the hissing, spurting and smell of LPG makes me stand at a distance. After a while thinking I am glad I parked Brice the Jeep up some distance away a Becky is safe inside, he explains to me that my fitting is not right. Frustrating as I knew there were different types but never thought there was a difference in one in the Middle East, but I learn there and many different fittings, even in the middle east. We head off and I resolve myself to surviving on what we had and thankful my bottle was not the cause of a gas disaster.
It is exciting today as we head to the Lost City if Petra. A bucket list destination. The place we planned to stay was about ten minutes away, but we also planned to head into Petra for the Petra by Night experience. We recce the car park right next to the entrance to the site. We find a place for Bruce and think well why not stay? We have a little time before entering and after buying our 17JOD each ticket, we head down the high street for dinner. We grab a traditional Jordan dinner that the ‘Sand Stone’ restaurant. A local Jordanian and extremely hard woman greets us and looks after us, as she dashes around catering to multiple tourists coming in for dinner, but treats us very well.
After dinner we walk down to the entrance. It is cold and we wrap up as the sun goes down so does the temperature.
The queue for Petra by Night is long and a procession of tourists march down the path for a good 20 minutes and for some much longer on the slightly uneven ancient pathway and with some weary inappropriate footwear. Tourists you have to love them! The other thing that makes the walk troubling is the use of phone lights often being shone in your face. This is a candle lit experience, so night vision is an unknown to some and I think it could get away with being an iPhone light experience.
We get to the Treasury and manage to get a seat at the front. The show is a combination of an Arabic flute player and a guitar serenade. Then an old chap talks to you about the ancestors and Petra, nothing to fancy, but very passionately. The lighting of the Treasure is spectacular, but then somewhat spoilt by a rude American woman that loudly speaks out that “this is rubbish” and “I shall write a review online”. Grrr I can’t help myself by saying she is welcome to leave and take her opinion with her. Oddly she stays to the end, but whatever your opinion, there is no need to spoil the moment for others. After the walk back, we actually stay in the carpark and have a decent night. The carpark clears and only music from the hotel opposite prevails before a deadly silence only broken by the odd dog. Not a bad spot really!