The Widow and the Spinster: The Search for Adventure, Enlightenment, and the Quest for Forbidden food - Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, and New TR Link! 4/2

[pkondz]

Think I'll just drop this here...

 

[jedijill]

Evidently these carvings were another message in the series that we had seen at the previous stop.

This was on the route of the Silk Road. The first set of drawings were directions to the water (previous pic with the hose...not the trauma bathroom!) and the second set of drawings were "highway" directions for the caravans that came through on the Silk Road. These drawings are close to 5000 years old.

Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

This was on the route of the Silk Road. The first set of drawings were directions to the water (previous pic with the hose...not the trauma bathroom!) and the second set of drawings were "highway" directions for the caravans that came through on the Silk Road. These drawings are close to 5000 years old.

Jill in CO

I assumed they’d be old but… 5,000 years!!

 

[bcwife76]

Horrifying potty situation aside (I feel ya on that, oy), your photos are stunning and it must have been such a surreal experience to actually be visiting all those historical and amazing sites

 

[ACDSNY]

Finally made it over to follow along. I would have died over that bathroom situation. You two are much braver than I. We're still down under for another week.

 

[rentayenta]

Oof no way on the bathroom situation!


Enjoying following along and all the details; the pics of you two are so cute! Sounds like a great trip thus far. This is not anywhere I ever plan to visit so soaking up all the adventure vicariously!

 

[franandaj]

It always does, doesn't it?

Yep, and it is doing that right now.

You've seen this video?

No I have not.

If they had Taco Bell there, they could make a killing! Really clean up, so to speak.

And I enjoyed following along, too.

Good!

So... a few things...
1. Not a jeep.

Yes, that is true.....

2. It just seems to me that you'd have been more comfortable in the back seat? I could be wrong.

We could not have seen everything that we saw though. And the pictures would not have been nearly as good.

3. What were the basics? Did he bring a stepstool?

Basically he told us to put our right foot on the ledge in the middle (just over the license plate), then put our left foot over the ledge on the left, and then swing the right leg over the back door flap. He was always watching and if you didn't do it that way, he would correct you. We got in and out of that damn truck about 10 or more times.

No way! Cool! And... now that you've said it... I totally see it!

We didn't know that the Martian was also homework for this trip and I've never seen it. We did watch Lawrence of Arabia.

Whoa. Business is booming.

Actually business was not booming. They were way down due to Americans canceling their trips.

Coooool!!
And... It's been a long time since I've seen it, but those high cliffs... there was a scene where Lawrence rides off with the other men... to war? Sabotage? Don't recall. Anyways, the women are all at the top of the cliffs, ululating. That looks similar to what I remember.

Well the movie was filmed there. That why we knew it was homework.

I wonder how they feel about him now? Do you know?

I think they still like him, but they call him "Arab Lawrence".

Some things seem fairly universal...

Ah! I remember reading about how tea is served in glasses in Russia. I guess the area is close enough to have influence (in one direction or the other.)
I find that interesting.

I think so.

Heh. Well you know me. Gimme the high-sugar tea!

I actually preferred it too!

Locals or tourists?

Definitely tourists. I don't think the locals ride the camels anymore. Most of them had trucks.

That's cool. Very striking.

No not that scene. Figures you would work that one in somehow.

Did you know what it would be, before setting out?

We had no idea what we were in store for other than the tour would end with the sunset.

Huh. Here I thought it would've been underground. It's up, instead!

Not sure there is much water underground there.

I think I read that you had to be Bedouin to be able to decipher them.

uh, oh...
oh dear...

Sure. Basically a bidet.

Not a fan, I take it.

Nope! Not even a little bit.

Ah. That explains a recent FB comment you or Jill made.

Actually it might have been Allyson too.

Oh dear.

I'm sorry... butt....

I can imagine the scene. You look at Jill... Jill looks at you... "Nope!" (said in unison)

We had that happen a lot!

1st photo is phone.

Actually no, the 2nd is from the phone.

 

[pkondz]

Yep, and it is doing that right now.

I thought as much.

No I have not.

Here ya go.

We could not have seen everything that we saw though. And the pictures would not have been nearly as good.

Valid point.

We got in and out of that damn truck about 10 or more times.

Oh dear.

We didn't know that the Martian was also homework for this trip and I've never seen it.

Oh! You really should.

Actually business was not booming. They were way down due to Americans canceling their trips.

Of course. Should have thought of that.

I think they still like him, but they call him "Arab Lawrence".

Huh. Wonder why?

Definitely tourists. I don't think the locals ride the camels anymore. Most of them had trucks.

Oh, that makes sense. And yet... if they need to go far out in the desert... maybe?
Just like most "cowboys" have trucks... but will ride horses too.

No not that scene. Figures you would work that one in somehow.

Not sure there is much water underground there.

Hadn't thought of that.

Actually no, the 2nd is from the phone.

Really? Huh! The 1st has far more grain. Huh.

 

[franandaj]

I love your pictures! We just rewatched The Martian this weekend with our youngest grandson and were wondering where it had been filmed. So neat!

I have yet to see it, but everyone tells me it's a really good movie. I've put it on the list, but I have so much already on "the list". I hear the actors strike is over, so we might start getting new television again at the beginning of next year....

Yuck on the toilet experience. I had a bad experience in Venice with a squat toilet in a nice restaurant. It was filthy! “Stuff” everywhere. I was sick the next day and wondered if it had anything to do with that.

I had an experience in France many many years ago, back in 1988 with a "hole in the floor" also at a nice restaurant. At least at the time I thought it was a nice restaurant. My standards have improved quite a bit since then. This was somewhat worse because unlike those holes in the ground, there were many more surfaces to become contaminated.

((((Shudder))))

It still grosses me out to think about it.

Looks like you’re having a fabulous trip.

It was a fabulous trip, but so glad to be back home. I've awakened every morning with at least 7-8 kitties in bed with me. They missed me.

 

[franandaj]

We were in Jordan in February and asked our driver about it. Apparently, like in Cairo (my family lived there 2000-2005), if a building is “finished” they have to pay some sort of property tax on it. If it’s not they don’t. So a lot of “unfinished” buildings everywhere!

I get that about the property taxes on the unfinished buildings. These were finished buildings that looked totally abandoned, bit I suppose that they just weren't open that day it was hard to tell.

I feel you on the bathrooms! Though we had quite a few squat pots along the way. I actually preferred those!

I would have preferred a squat pot in this situation! The fact that there was a toilet kind of made it worse!

 

[franandaj]

Think I'll just drop this here...

View attachment 807954

Cute. My kitties actually prefer for me to stay in bed. They have food bowls throughout the house so they don't need me to get up for them to have food. Since I've been back I've had between 6 and 8 cats in bed with me the whole time when I sleep and even after I wake up and sit in bed watching the news and playing puzzles.

 

[franandaj]

This was on the route of the Silk Road. The first set of drawings were directions to the water (previous pic with the hose...not the trauma bathroom!) and the second set of drawings were "highway" directions for the caravans that came through on the Silk Road. These drawings are close to 5000 years old.

Jill in CO

Thanks Jill! I incorporated this text into my post!

 

[franandaj]

I assumed they’d be old but… 5,000 years!!

I'm glad Jill chimed in on that post. I evidently was too busy thinking about other things that I didn't pay great attention to what he was saying.

 

[franandaj]

Horrifying potty situation aside (I feel ya on that, oy), your photos are stunning and it must have been such a surreal experience to actually be visiting all those historical and amazing sites

This was our first of many great adventures. Speeding across that desert with the wind blowing in our faces was so exciting! But I think we did all of our excursions in a perfect order because each day seemed more exciting than the day before!

 

[franandaj]

Finally made it over to follow along.

I would have died over that bathroom situation.

Yeah, there wasn't a lot I could do about it.

You two are much braver than I.

Or stupid!

We're still down under for another week.

I've been enjoying your pictures. I want to stay in that cabin at the zoo!

 

[franandaj]

Oof no way on the bathroom situation!

Well there wasn't much choice. It was either "end this tour now, and take me back to camp" or the situation that unfolded. I didn't want to end our first adventure early, so I rolled with it.

Enjoying following along and all the details; the pics of you two are so cute!

You know we took all the selfies on this trip to make you happy!

Sounds like a great trip thus far. This is not anywhere I ever plan to visit so soaking up all the adventure vicariously!

It wasn't on my radar either, but now that I've been there it's opened up all the possibilities for other trips to crazy places!

 

[franandaj]

I thought as much.

I just had a game changing epiphany this morning. More details in the next update!

Here ya go.

That is just weird......

Oh! You really should.

It's on my list, but I really don't have much time for television (movies). Yesterday I didn't watch anything but my regular morning dose of news.

Huh. Wonder why?

I don't know anything about the Arabic language, but I imagine that it is something like the difference of the placement of adjectives like in English vs French. Like when you make a Beurre Blanche sauce, but we would call it a White Butter sauce.

Oh, that makes sense. And yet... if they need to go far out in the desert... maybe?
Just like most "cowboys" have trucks... but will ride horses too.

I think that trucks can go more places than camels can and quicker. They're actually rather slow, and not that comfortable to ride, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Really? Huh! The 1st has far more grain. Huh.

My camera is almost 10 years old or more. My phone is less than a year old.

 

[franandaj]

Having Technical difficulties

 

[pkondz]

Cute. My kitties actually prefer for me to stay in bed. They have food bowls throughout the house so they don't need me to get up for them to have food. Since I've been back I've had between 6 and 8 cats in bed with me the whole time when I sleep and even after I wake up and sit in bed watching the news and playing puzzles.

Which one plays the sax?

I just had a game changing epiphany this morning. More details in the next update!

That is just weird......

But funny

It's on my list, but I really don't have much time for television (movies). Yesterday I didn't watch anything but my regular morning dose of news.

Nothing but fun times, there.

don't know anything about the Arabic language, but I imagine that it is something like the difference of the placement of adjectives like in English vs French. Like when you make a Beurre Blanche sauce, but we would call it a White Butter sauce.

I had thought of that.
My favourite is when my French friends say “Me , I like that, me.”

I think that trucks can go more places than camels can and quicker.

And you can say that about horses too, but…

My camera is almost 10 years old or more. My phone is less than a year old.

Ohhhh

Having Technical difficulties

Please stand by. Your post will be answered in the order it was received.

 

[franandaj]

So I’ve had a breakthrough in my trip reporting! This morning I realized that I could do updates and work on the TR from my bedroom while I’m sitting around watching my news programs. By bringing the computer I mention below into the bedroom, I can do almost everything but choose and edit the pictures. Once they’ve been uploaded to Photobucket, I can do all the fine tuning of my notes and add in the pictures, all before I’ve had coffee or even gotten out of bed!

So back to your regularly scheduled programming.

After that desert jeep trip, I really needed a shower before dinner. I hopped right in and got clean and changed. Jill decided to wait until after dinner for her shower. In addition to my traumatic potty experience, the jeep tour got us super dusty and dirty and neither of us wanted to go to sleep like that. Dinner didn't start until 7PM and we had some time to kill. I got out my computer and started trying to organize the photos that I had taken thus far and start choosing which ones to use for the TR.

After fighting with the computer to recognize my phone, I finally downloaded all my pictures to my extra computer. (I didn't bring my actual computer for fear of theft, damage, or otherwise). By the time I finished with the pictures, it was time for dinner.

Now I don’t think I mentioned this in the previous update, but our guide on the jeep tour told us that while this should be their highest season, bookings were down. After the war broke out in Israel lots of Americans canceled their trips. Remember how I said in the intro that we were originally scheduled to stay at a plain old hotel in Petra for this night?

We figured out that the reason they were able to get us into this Bedouin camp was from those cancelations. The fighting broke out on October 7, and it was October 13 when we got the confirmation of availability at this camp. No wonder they were offering us an upgrade to the Martian tent. They probably had a lot of empty tents.

They have an entire ritual where everyone gathers round the pit. Dinner is buried in a basket in the ground surrounded by coals and cooks for three hours under the surface.

They dig it up, remove all the covering and voila, you have a lovely basket full of meat, rice and vegetables!

Kind of reminds me of a luau in Hawaii where they do a whole pig under the banana leaves. Yuuummmm Kahlua pi-eeeerp move along! Nothing to see here!

We would be dining on chicken and lamb

Later this area would be full of folks kicking back and smoking. That’s one of the drawbacks of this region, smoking is still allowed in many places. It’s a huge part of their culture.

Instead of dining in the dome this evening, we enjoyed our dinner under the stars. Here’s Jill going to save us a table.

This kitty was stalking the diners for scraps and morsels.

Inside the dining room there was an entire buffet spread. In addition to the food cooked underground there was a whole spread of salads, vegetable sides, and even some chicken and fish dishes that weren’t prepared underground. Don’t ask me what any of this was, we just took a little bit if it looked good!

Our plates were so full with chicken, lamb, potato, rice, spinach salad, samosa, vegetables, potato salad, pita bread, and more!

We also had some dessert bites.

Neither of us could finish and felt bad for leaving so much food, but there was just so much and they piled it on. So good but so much. The kitty definitely got some of my chicken.

One of the activities that our driver had offered us to sign up for was looking at the stars through a telescope. The night was so cloudy we were glad we declined this offer.

So instead, following dinner we headed back to our cabin to get an early bedtime. We were going to be up early the next day!

While laying in bed trying to sleep, I commented that I much preferred the "naked camels" that we saw along the road. (There were way more camel sightings along the road than I mentioned or was able to capture on camera, remember our driver liked to go fast.)

Neither of us had been sleeping well so far. Perhaps it was the jet lag, or who knows, but I woke at around 2AM and thought I saw stars through the window blind. As I opened it up, Jill (who also couldn't sleep), saw that there were stars visible in the sky. We went outside and I tried to take some pictures with the DSLR.

For you folks who know photo babble, I couldn’t get the camera to take a picture with the auto focus on, so I just turned it off, put the camera on a 4 to 5 second shutter speed and set it on the railing outside our tent facing up to the sky. I know real technical huh?

This was the only shot that came out remotely being able to recognize anything. You can see Orion’s belt in there.

After we marveled at the sky, we went back to bed for a few more hours.

Up Next: Up, up, and Away…..how many of you can sing the rest of that song lyirc? Or name the group?